The Seattle Times reports that the passenger who disappeared from Princess Cruises cruise ship Sapphire Princess is Ms. Edelgard Carney, a resident of Sutter Creek, California. 

The newspaper also reports that the U.S. Coast Guard has narrowed its search to an area approximately 15 miles south of Ketchikan.  A Coast Guard officer is quoted as saying: "Based on new information it was determined that the passenger went overboard shortly after the ship departed from Ketchikan on Monday evening."

If Ms. Carney did fall from the ship on Monday, this is a rather amazing announcement.  Princess Cruises did not report her missing until the cruise ship arrived in Vancouver on Wednesday.  Her cabin would have been cleaned on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and the cabin attendant certainly would have noticed that no one had been in the cabin for two days. This would be similar to the case of Mirrian Carver who "disappeared" from a Celebrity cruise ship and the cabin attendant knew she was missing from the cabin but did nothing. 

This announcement probably indicates that there is surveillance video of Ms. Edelgard which pinpoints the approximate time of her disappearance.

Why did it take so long for the cruise line to report the disappearance?  Does Princess Cruises monitor the shipboard cameras?  

I can watch a ship cam from the Sapphire Princess from my desk here in Miami. Why don’t the Princess Cruises security guards and CCTV operators watch the surveillance cameras on their own cruise ships?   

 

Photo credit:

Sapphire Princess Web Cam        Princess Cruises