Search underway for man missing from Mariner of the Seas

A search is currently underway for a 21-year-old man, now presumed to have gone overboard early Monday from Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas during the first night of his vacation. At the time the ship had departed Port Canaveral, Florida, sailing for Royal Caribbean's Bahamian private island.

An onboard security camera spotted Daniel Dipiero, from Augusta, Ohio, on deck between midnight and 2 am Monday morning, and he hasn't been seen since. Traveling companions reported at 11 am that he hadn't slept in his interior stateroom. Following a futile search of the CoCo Cay private island, where the ship had since docked, and the ship itself, the FBI, U.S. and Bahamian coast guards were notified at 7 pm.

Unfortunately, harsh weather prevented the Coast Guard from beginning an aerial search of the ship's path until 9 am Tuesday morning.

The mainstream press, ever vigilant to seek controversy, is zeroing in on the 8-hour delay between when Mr. Dipiero's traveling companions alerted Royal Caribbean, and the time the cruise line notified other authorities. However, the ship had docked at CoCo Cay around 7 am, and begun tendering passengers ashore soon thereafter. By 11 am, when Royal Caribbean was notified, Mr. Dipiero could have gone ashore and that possibility needed to be ruled out prior to sounding the alarm.

With luck Mr. Dipiero will be found alive and well. Meanwhile our takeaway from this story, and other stories like it, is to treat railings on cruise ships with the same respect as a railing found on any tall building.

UPDATE 5/20/06: The investigation determined that Mr. Dipiero's group had smuggled aboard alcohol, against cruise line policy, and had videotaped themselves drinking. The tragic mystery is over, as it was announced that cruise line security camera footage showed Mr. Dipiero falling overboard.