Police in Miami are searching for man who went missing aboard cruise on Labor Day

By Melissa Alonso and Caroll Alvarado, CNN

(CNN) — Miami-Dade police investigators are searching for a cruise passenger who was last seen aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship on Labor Day, authorities in Florida and the passenger’s sister said

“Kevin McGrath, 26 years old, was last seen in the area of Port of Miami,” a missing person flyer issued by the Miami-Dade Police Department said.

McGrath, a Florida resident, was on the Carnival Conquest cruise ship, which left Miami on Friday and headed to the Bahamas for the weekend before returning to Miami on Monday, his sister Danielle McGrath told CNN.

Danielle McGrath, who was not on the ship, said her brother and family were on the cruise to celebrate their father’s 60th birthday.

The family first noticed McGrath was missing after he failed to show up for breakfast Monday morning, his sister said. “When he didn’t show up to breakfast it was alarming, so they (McGrath’s family members) went to look for him. After they couldn’t find him, they approached the ship’s staff for help,” she said.

“On Monday morning after Carnival Conquest had returned to PortMiami, a guest reported a family member missing,” Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement. “Our investigation continues, including multiple reviews of closed circuit video footage and we are also cooperating with law enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard.”

McGrath, who’s an Army veteran and a father of two, was recorded on cell phone video enjoying the live music on the ship. “From what I was told, he had an amazing time. He was in good spirits everyone said,” his sister told CNN.

‘He would not disappear’

Carnival officials told the family that McGrath’s key card was last used to enter his room around 3:30 a.m. Monday, his sister said.

“He would not disappear and not tell anyone, especially my dad, where he was. This is not something my brother would do,” she added. “My whole family is taking it terribly. We’re just sick to our stomach.”

Carnival officials told the family that the ship’s overboard detections system never went off, so they reached out to the Miami police for assistance, McGrath’s sister told CNN.

“Something is not right. There’s no way that my brother would just vanish into thin air like this. We want some answers. Today is day four and we know nothing about his whereabouts. They haven’t found anything,” she said.

The Coast Guard initially assisted the Miami-Dade Police Department and Florida wildlife officials with a search in the water after being notified McGrath was missing on Monday at about 11 a.m., a Coast Guard spokesperson told CNN.

“Crews searched nearly 3,300 square nautical miles, a combined crew total of over 80 hours” before suspending their search, the Coast Guard said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Miami-Dade police.

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