Michelle Vilborg
Event Date: June 15, 2009
Bruise: Missing
Bruise Location: Gulf Of Mexico
Age: 50
Home Town: Alabama
Details:
A crew member aboard Carnival Cruise Lines's Holiday said that he heard a splash while the ship was in the Gulf Of Mexico after leaving Mobile, Alabama today.
All passengers were ordered to their cabins and a head count was taken. At that time the ship's officers determined that a passenger was missing. The passenger is said to be a woman, Michelle Vilborg, age 50.
Michelle Vilborg
Cruise Ship Passenger Overboard
Carnival Cruise Lines Holiday - June 15, 2009
Vilborg was on her first cruise ever, to celebrate her birthday with her husband Sven of 30 years. They had made a sudden decision to take the cruise, according to their son Erik, having booked it only a couple weeks before hand. The couple are from Bay Minette, Alabama.
Sven Vilborg said the couple had gone to dinner then came back to the cabin and went to bed. He was asleep in their cabin when the man overboard alarm went off and woke him up. At that point he realized his wife was not in the cabin.
Holiday was in the Gulf Of Mexico about 75 miles southwest of Pensacola, Florida on her way to Cozumel, Mexico when the incident took place around 2030 hours on Monday, June 15, 2009.
At the time of the incident, the temperature was in the low 80s with clear skies.
Passengers aboard say that two search boats were launched and life preserver was tossed overboard in the area where the splash was heard.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) for notified right after midnight that the woman had gone overboard and has begun a search with two cutters, two airplanes and a helicopter.
The USCG told Holiday crew to go on their way around noon on Tuesday and continued the search themselves.
The Carnival Holiday had left port around 1600 hours on a 5-night Western Caribbean cruise. The ship was to call at Cozumel, Mexico then onto Playa Del Carmen (Calica), Mexico. The ship is due back in Mobile, Alabama at 0800 hours on Saturday, June 20.
This is the second overboard today. The other case is here. It is the third overboard in less than a month, all of them on Carnival ships. Carnival has had seven people overboard so far in 2009. To view overboards on Carnival Cruise Line ships, click here.
The search has been called off for Mrs. Vilborg, she has not been found.
