This post is a bit of a departure from our normal “miles and points” content. Instead, it’s about an unsolved mystery related to one of my favorite types of travel, which is cruising.
Over Labor Day weekend earlier this month, 26-year-old Kevin McGrath took a 3-night Carnival cruise out of Miami. He was traveling with 40+ family members to celebrate his dad’s 60th birthday. On the last night of the cruise, he disappeared, and he still hasn’t been found.
The Facts
According to multiple news sources, Kevin McGrath sailed on the Carnival Conquest ship for a 3-night cruise from Miami that departed on September 1, 2023. The itinerary included a sea day as well as a port day in Bimini, Bahamas. Kevin was sharing a room with his twin brother.
On the last night of the cruise, Kevin was last seen dancing in the nightclub at 2:00 a.m. Ship records show that his key card was used by him (or someone) to enter his stateroom at 3:30 a.m. He did not show up for breakfast, and it was soon time to get off the ship. His family reported him missing to the crew.
Security searched the ship for Kevin. The ship’s overboard detection system did not indicate anyone went overboard, and he was not seen jumping or falling on video. The U.S. Coast Guard searched for Kevin across 3300 nautical square miles with no success. On September 7, 2023, authorities suspended the search.
🚨 #MISSING: Kevin McGrath, 26 years old, was last seen in the area of Port of Miami 1015 North America Way. The missing person may be in need of services. Anyone with information is urged to contact @CrimeStopper305 at (305) 471-8477 or by dialing **TIPS. pic.twitter.com/pmAAMpgSgM
— Miami-Dade Police (@MiamiDadePD) September 5, 2023
What could have happened?
This missing persons case is a bit different, because usually a ship’s video or a witness can see if a person goes overboard. That’s what happened just a week prior to Kevin’s disappearance with a different incident on Wonder of the Seas.
There are quite a few possibilities as to what may have happened to Kevin. A Facebook sleuthing group with over 4000 members has some theories, including:
- He fell overboard due to intoxication
- He jumped overboard
- He died somewhere on the ship and has not yet been found
- He was taken off the ship in a large suitcase to avoid detection
- His family helped him disappear to avoid jail time (he was on probation)
- The crew/cruise line is covering up his on-board death
What do I think?
Three day cruises, especially out of Miami, are known for being “booze cruises”. The cruise fares are super cheap so that everyone can afford to add the drink package, which includes 15 alcoholic drinks per day. That’s a lot of alcohol. People don’t always make the best decisions in the wee hours of the morning when intoxicated.
Based on no other information, I think it’s likely that Kevin either fell overboard or jumped overboard. The Carnival Conquest was built in 2002, and perhaps its overboard detection system isn’t the sharpest. But who knows?
I’m sure this case is devastating for the family. Will they ever know exactly what happened or get closure? If I were in their shoes, and if I had the resources, I’d hire a private detective to comb through security tapes and interview passengers and crew who may have interacted with Kevin. Maybe someone will start a podcast to investigate this case.
Are cruise ships safe?
When this case first appeared in the news, some folks commented that cruising isn’t safe. That’s not true at all.
First of all, it’s actually very difficult for a non-intoxicated person to fall overboard. The railings are just too high, and you can’t climb them easily. The rungs are covered with plexiglass so you can’t climb them like a ladder. The only way to really get overboard is to climb on furniture to boost yourself up enough to get over.
Secondly, this type of incident is actually very rare on cruise ships. According to CLIA (Cruise Line Industry Association), in the eleven year period from 2009 to 2019, only 212 people fell or jumped overboard. That’s out of more than 200 million passengers. So, it’s a very, very low percentage.
I’ve never felt unsafe on a cruise ship. Even during rough seas, I simply can’t imagine the likelihood of accidentally going overboard.
Final Thoughts
The case of the missing cruise passenger Kevin McGrath is tragic. I hope his family gets some answers soon. This case, however, should not deter people from cruising. As a whole, cruising is a very safe, fun vacation.
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I was on the ship and had video of him from Saturday night at 9:20pm dancing by himself without drinking (it’s the video of him on GMA and other news outlets). He seemed pretty chill to me. He went missing early Monday morning. Others reported he didn’t drink anymore so he must have had issues. His probation for the next 5 years was for assault so maybe he had issues with booze in the past that’s related, just a guess. I brought up the probation on the sailing’s Facebook group and his family said he was given permission to go on the cruise.
I’ve read people who think he and his family are hiding him for insurance money. That’s silly. A 26 year old isn’t going to have much life insurance and it takes a few years and money to get a missing person declared dead and an insurer can still hold up payment for years or decades after.
Carnival searched the whole ship and held up embarkation for the next sailing. People have said they didn’t do enough but I don’t see what else they could have done. 3 weeks later and he’s still not on the ship, so he’s definitely not there.
We were only in Bimini so the waters shouldn’t have been too difficult to search. But I do think he may have gone overboard undetected or snuck off as we docked for what ever reason.
I do hope the family has some resolution soon. They are very upset over it.
From my understanding, he no longer consumed alcohol. He had went through treatment for a past alcohol addiction and his ex wife, whom he just split from, told me that he didn’t drink. Plus I seen where close friends to him said the same thing. He did not drink. Unless he started back on this cruise. I did see him with a cup in a photo but of course have no ideal what was in it.
The being on probation thing is big. As a default rule, you’re not allowed to leave the state, let alone the country, without a court order allowing that specific travel. As one might imagine, it would be quite rare for a judge to allow a probationer to leave the country for anything but the most serious of reasons. A 40th birthday celebration booze cruise doesn’t fit the bill.
So I’d surmise that he didn’t have judicial permission to leave the country while on probation, and he probably knew or became aware that there was a likelihood of legal trouble for him at the point of being processed back in with US Immigration. These circumstances may have motivated whatever action was taken by Mr. McGrath.
@Lars Thanks for the insight.
I was on probation for one year, and I got permission from a judge to cruise for5 days to 3 islands. Just saying.
@M Thanks for the info.
If that statistic about people going overboard is correct, that’s roughly 1 in 24,000. Which sounds really high to me. Given the size of ships these days, that would mean what… every 6 to 8 cruises someone hits the water? That’s crazy.
@projectx I misinterpreted the data. 5 million is the cumulative number of “active lower berths” for those years and doesn’t take into account the number of sailings each year plus additional people in each cabin. I’ll change the post. The number of total cruise passengers in the 11 years is over 200 million. The overboard incidents average out to 19 people per year.
Ah, ok so more like 1 in a million. That makes more sense, thanks!
Your math is incorrect! It’s 19.3 people per year. 212 people, divided by 11. Which is still very high and insane!!!!!
Your statement about non intoxicated people not being to fall overboard easily is not true. It is very easy to climb the railings on Holland America or Princess ships and jump overboard. You certainly don’t need furniture to climb them. The railings on each are not that high. Some of the railings are metal, and the wooden ones are not slippery enough to stop you. This is also true of the balconies on the ships as well.
These types of stories are Always so sad. I definitely hope his family gets some answers. I can only imagine how hard this would be to deal with.