Man Disappears From Ship; FBI on Case

The FBI is investigating the disappearance of a Yorba Linda man who was on the Carnival cruise ship Elation out of Los Angeles, bound for Mexico, officials said Friday.

The FBI confirmed that John Conaty, 42, was reported missing at 2:30 p.m. July 31 while the ship was off the coast of Mexico. His wife, Marilyn, reported to ship authorities that he was last seen at 11:30 p.m. the day before.

Lt. Chris Schubert, a Coast Guard spokesman in San Diego, said crews conducted an 11-hour search with three flights of a rescue helicopter and scanned about 65 nautical miles southwest of San Diego but turned up nothing.

A spokeswoman for Carnival also said that an extensive search of the ship and interviews with passengers turned up no information on the missing man.

“We even turned the ship around and retraced our course until nightfall, at which point we couldn’t search any further,” said Jennifer de la Cruz, a Carnival spokeswoman in Miami, where the cruise line is based.

She said Conaty’s relatives disembarked from the ship in Puerto Vallarta and flew back to Los Angeles.

She said a family member had reported last seeing Conaty before midnight in the ship’s casino July 30. Conaty, his wife and other relatives were traveling together on a seven-day trip.

“It’s extremely rare for someone to go overboard,” de la Cruz said. The ship was searched thoroughly, she said, a photograph of Conaty was circulated and announcements were made about the missing man on a daily basis during the voyage. “I’m not aware that there were any witnesses.”

She said the Elation departed from Los Angeles on July 30 and docked again in Los Angeles a week later, after stopping in Puerto Vallarta and circling through the Mexican ports of Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

The FBI is involved in the investigation because, although the disappearance apparently happened in international waters, the ship left and returned to Los Angeles.

“We’re trying to ascertain what happened with Mr. Conaty,” said Jan Caldwell, an FBI spokeswoman in San Diego. “We’re involved in this to find out if there’s been any foul play.” She gave no other details about the case.