The United States Coast Guard announced that the search for Kaylyn Rose Sommer, a 24-year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, has ended. Sommer was reported to have gone overboard the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship during the Mad Decent Boat Party.
The release said that after Coast Guard crews covered more than 1,300 square nautical miles, the search was suspended this Saturday morning. The Coast Guard believes that Sommer went overboard on Thursday, November 12 at a height greater than 80 feet above the water.
“Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the loved ones affected by this terrible tragedy,” said Capt. Todd Coggeshall, Incident Management Chief at the Coast Guard’s Seventh District. “We are all sons and daughters, and many of our responders have young children themselves. Suspending search efforts is always a painful decision, particularly when it involves a young mother.”
Mad Decent, Diplo’s record label that hosted the four-day music festival cruise, said in their statement on Friday that, “We are deeply saddened by the news that one of our guests on our current cruise went overboard on November 12,” adding that their “hearts go out to the family and all involved in this incident, and we will continue to support those affected during this difficult time.”
The ship was not able to travel to its original destination of Cozumel, Mexico and ultimately had to turn around to the port of Miami. The parties still went on as planned though, leading to this thought-provoking post from Oliver Heldens.
Feeling kinda strange… I’m stuck on this big party boat, because of a tragic incident (a girl jumped off the boat)….
Posted by Oliver Heldens on Saturday, November 14, 2015
Source: United States Coast Guard
