Girlfriend of man who fell off cruise ship thinks he could still be alive in sea

28 April 2023 , 09:12

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Warwick Tollemache, right, with girlfriend Celina La Roche (Image: Facebook)

A woman whose boyfriend fell overboard while on a cruise has been left heartbroken after the search for him was called off.

Warwick Tollemache, 35, from Brisbane in Australia, fell from the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship around 870 miles south of Hawaii.

His long-term girlfriend Celina La Roche has now paid tribute to the man she had been dating for six years.

In a heartbreaking post, she wrote: "I love you, always have and always will. RIP my love.'

She added in an interview: "They should have kept looking – I don't understand why they stopped the search. I'm just devastated.

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"We were cruising in the South Pacific last month and I was going to move in with him. I was still hoping until I heard they'd stopped the search and now… he could still be alive in the middle of nowhere."

The search for Warwick's body has now been called off (Facebook)

She said that she wouldn't be able to find closure until his body was found as the US Coast Guard scoured the ocean from the sea and air.

The hunt became "almost impossible" after large overnight swells made conditions difficult for search teams.

Warwick's family and Australian officials were included in the decision to call it off.

In a statement, his family wrote: "Our family is heartbroken at the loss of our beloved Warwick.

"He was a kind, beautiful, and gentle soul who was adored by everyone who knew him. He will be deeply missed.

Rescue teams consulted the family and Australian officials before calling off the hunt (Royal Caribbean Cruises)

"We kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time. Thank you for your understanding."

After news of the search being halted was shared, friends and relatives took to social media to share their grief.

"I will miss you dearly my friend, my brother, my heart is aching so much knowing that I won't get to see you again or give you a hug," one friend wrote.

Large overnight swells made the search problematic (Facebook)

A friend of the family said: "He left an indelible mark on all who knew him and he will live on in all of us. My heart is breaking... for you, for him, for all your beautiful family. He will be so very missed."

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Kevin Cooper, search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a statement: "The coast guard has made the difficult decision to suspend the active search for the passenger aboard the Quantum of the Seas."

Ryan Fahey