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A camera showed him leaning over a railing of his stateroom balcony and dropping into the water early Monday morning.
NORFOLK, Va. — A 35-year-old man is missing after he apparently fell overboard while en route back to Norfolk on board the Carnival Magic. The cruise ship departed from Norfolk on May 25 and returned to port Tuesday morning.
According to a statement from Carnival Cruise Lines, the man "was reported missing by his companion late Monday afternoon and an initial review of closed circuit security footage confirms that he leaned over the railing of his stateroom balcony and dropped into the water at approximately 4:10 am early Monday morning."
The spokesperson said the U.S. Coast Guard had released the ship from participating in search and rescue efforts and told the Carnival Magic's captain that they should complete the ship's return trip to Norfolk "where it will arrive as planned Tuesday."
The spokesperson said: "The Carnival Care Team is providing support to the guest’s companion and traveling party who are on board."
The Carnival Magic arrived back as planned in Norfolk Tuesday morning.
The Southeast Coast Guard said that the man went overboard about 186 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida. The Coast Guard is still searching for him using air and water assets.
His partner tells 13News Now his name is Ronnie Peale Jr. and described him as the life of the party.
I just spoke to the partner of the missing man over social media.
She says his name is Ronnie Peale Jr. and described him as the 'life of the party.'
She shared these photos of the two on the cruise ship
📸: Jennilyn Michelle Blosser pic.twitter.com/DJ3qQcaqDM
“I think it was about 3 o’clock-ish, they started paging the gentleman,” said Dawn Schrieber, a passenger on Carnival Magic.
“We didn’t know how serious it was until his wife got on the Facebook page that said he has been missing since 3:30 yesterday morning,” said Shannon Wallace, another cruise passenger.
Wallace said someone started a Facebook group before the cruise to meet others. During their last night on the ship, they used that group to try and find Peale.
“They were posting on that Facebook page like 'Hey Ronnie, if you’re OK go to the front desk,'” Wallace said.
“I’m really hoping that they find him or he’s able to hold on or something because that’s my biggest fear,” Schrieber said.
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