ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Coast Guard is searching for a 67-year-old cruise ship passenger who was reported missing to the Coast Guard around 11 a.m. from the Princess Cruise Line cruise ship Sapphire Princess while in transit from Ketchikan to Vancouver, British Columbia.
The woman, a U.S. citizen, was noticed to be missing when she didn’t leave the cruise ship as scheduled after it entered the port of Vancouver around 6 a.m. Wednesday. The Sapphire Princess departed Ketchikan Monday afternoon.
The crew of the cruise ship notified the Coast Guard who immediately launched a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew from Air Station Sitka. The Coast Guard is also launching a HC-130 aircraft from Air Station Kodiak and a 47-foot motor life boat from Station Ketchikan.
The search area begins in Ketchikan and runs 86 miles south to include Dixon Entrance, Tongass Narrows and the northern end of Hecate Strait. Canadian assets are searching from Vancouver 517 miles north to Hecate Strait.
The cruise ship has been searched by its crew and have found no signs of the woman. The woman’s personnel belongings were found in her stateroom. The woman’s name is being withheld due to next-of-kin notifications.
