The father of a Florida man who mysteriously vanished aboard a Carnival cruise ship is still searching for answers as his son remains missing for nearly two weeks.
Sean McGrath, who was celebrating his 60th birthday with a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas, said he last spoke with his 26-year-old son, Kevin McGrath, on the evening of September 3. Both father and son were on the Carnival Conquest with around 43 friends and family members when Kevin vanished.
“I spoke to him around 10 p.m. and just went to the room to give him his luggage tags and tell him to meet us downstairs for breakfast about 7:30 a.m.,” Sean told The St. Lucie News-Tribune.
Kevin’s pass card was scanned when he entered the room that he shared with his twin brother at around 3:30 a.m. on September 4, Sean said, while the cruise ship was en route back to PortMiami. Since then, loved ones have not seen or heard from him.
“Even if it’s something for closure,” Sean said. “We just want to not get up every day and not know where he is or what happened to him.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the US Coast Guard used an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and boats to search around 3,300 nautical square miles in surrounding Miami waters following the disappearance. They suspended the search on September 8.
Carnival said in a statement that McGrath was “not detected by surveillance systems, including U.S. Customs and Border Patrol during the debarkation process.”
Sean said he’s hoping that his Army veteran son will use survival skills to return home safely, according to CBS 10.
“We’re hoping that his training and survival skills will come into play at some point,” Sean added. “We’re hoping, we’re hoping.”
McGrath is described as a Black male who stands 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 170 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, black shorts and grey shoes
Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective M. Ritch Jr. at 305-715-3300 or Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS( 8477).
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[Feature Photo: Kevin McGrath/Miami-Dade police]