A passenger aboard the Carnival Magic cruise ship went missing after falling overboard during a birthday cruise with his fiancée.
The passenger was identified as 35-year-old Ronnie Lee Peale Jr. from Virginia. Late on Monday, the US Coast Guard received a report of his absence. The surveillance footage from the ship substantiates the claim, showing Peale leaning over his stateroom’s balcony railing and falling into the sea at around 4:10 am.
The incident occurred approximately 185 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida, in the early hours of Monday, May 29, as confirmed by the Coast Guard.
Following the fall, the Coast Guard commenced a broad search operation, which has since been called off, employing aircraft and vessels, in an attempt to locate Peale.
Although official identification of the missing individual was withheld, Jennilyn Michelle Blosser, Peale’s fiancée, confirmed to a news outlet that he was indeed the missing passenger.
With the cessation of the search, Blosser, anticipating the worst, launched a GoFundMe campaign to manage funeral costs. According to the campaign details, the couple embarked on the cruise on Thursday, May 25, to commemorate Blosser’s birthday. They were set to sail from Norfolk, Virginia, to the Bahamas and return. Blosser revealed that the trip was Peale’s first cruise, an experience he was thoroughly enjoying, making friends due to his sociable nature.
