Tape shows passenger fell overboard from cruise (AP) Updated: 2006-05-18 10:01
A passenger reported missing on a cruise to the Bahamas fell overboard after
a night of heavy drinking with friends, authorities said Wednesday as Coast
Guard crews suspended their search for the man.
 Daniel DiPiero, 21, of
Canfield, Ohio, is shown in a screengrab from ABC News video. His friends
told authorities that they last saw him on the Mariner of the Seas cruise
ship May 14. [ABC News] |
Friends of Daniel DiPiero, 21, of Canfield, Ohio, last saw him on the Mariner
of the Seas around midnight Sunday, Petty Officer Dana Warr said.
About two hours later, shipboard security cameras show DiPiero falling
overboard from a rail near the front of the ship, investigators said.
He was reported missing Monday morning when his friends realized he had not
slept in the cabin they shared. Royal Caribbean International notified the Coast
Guard after searching the ship and Coco Cay, an island owned by the cruise line.
Vessels and aircraft from the U.S. and Bahamian Coast Guards searched 900
square miles of ocean between Grand Bahama Island and Coco Cay. The ship had
departed from Port Canaveral.
Investigators from the FBI and the Coast Guard interviewed DiPiero's
companions, other travelers and crew members Wednesday aboard the ship, the
company said.
They found that DiPiero and his friends concealed liquor in mouthwash bottles
and brought a bottle of rum in their luggage. The friends videotaped themselves
drinking the alcohol Sunday afternoon, and DiPiero continued drinking until
midnight, investigators said.
"Our thoughts and prayers remain with the young man's
family and friends during this difficult time," company spokesman Michael
Sheehan said.
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