Coast Guard: Deepest Sympathies To Vilborg Family

Michelle Vilborg family hoped for better news.

"You kinda want to believe that she's in the ship somewhere," said Erik Vilborg, hours after his mom was reported missing from the Holiday cruise ship.

Vilborg, a 50 year old grandmother is believed to have gone overboard late Monday night while cruising with her husband. The cruise ship was sailing 70 miles south, southwest of Pensacola, when a passenger reported hearing a splash. A head count of guests and crew members revealed Vilborg was no where to be found.

Investigators still don't know how Vilborg went overboard, but after nearly 45 hours of searching for the missing passenger, the Coast Guard called off its effort at sundown Wednesday.

"We had a number of patrol boats on scene, aircraft and helicopters. We had great search conditions, and we feel confident that if Ms. Vilborg was alive and in the search area we would have recovered her," said Poulin.

Poulin, commander of the Mobile Sector of the US Coast Guard, delivered news of the suspended search to Michelle Vilborg husband, Sven. "He was very distraught as you can imagine."

Poulin extended "deepest sympathies to the Vilborg family" on behalf of the US Coast Guard, saying "as professional mariners and people who make our living on the sea we always want to find someone whose lost."

Sven Vilborg, along with his son and daughter, who travelled to Cozumel, Mexico Wednesday to be with their father, flew home Thursday afternoon.

Michelle Vilborg is the twelfth person to fall of a cruise ship in 2009. Five of the twelve passengers were rescued, but seven, including Vilborg, are still missing.