FL FL - Kevin McGrath, 26, missing from a cruise ship, Miami, 4 Sept 2023

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When criminal charges are filed in a child support delinquency case, that in no way means the person is going to jail. The courts try to give the person whatever opportunities they can to get caught up. If they send them to jail, they definitely won’t pay and will get further behind. Generally, after charges are filed, the Judge will review the case, garnish wages, give X days to pay X amount. Then follow up. The threat of jail will be over their head the entire time, but it is in no way a definite. Courts will follow up every month until they are back on track.

Regarding being voluntarily missing…having cruised on several Carnival ships out of Miami, I honestly can’t see how he could have gotten off the ship without it being noticed unless he went overboard at night. Anytime during the day, there are people every. When you are at a port, you go through a scanner, they identify you, there are cameras, they count and recount. We had to sit at the port in Cozumel for 3 extra hours once because one lady had a few too many at Fat Tuesdays and lost track of time. Her friends actually didn’t even know she was missing. They thought she was in her room passed out. It system they have scans the scared and accounts for every person getting in and off the ship.
He's already on probation for a felony. Terms always say you can't commit further crimes while on probation, and he's being charged with criminal neglect of child support.

This seems pretty clear, he's hiding out somewhere. To me.
 
Thanks to those who shared the court documents. This certainly puts KM's "disappearance" in a new light. I've been wondering why the family hasn't sued Carnival since they seem convinced that the cruise line is somehow responsible for Kevin being missing. To the best of my knowledge, the family hasn't been pursued by a local attorney to file a lawsuit - maybe because attorneys are aware of KM's criminal record and suspect that he jumped overboard to avoid consequences or is on the run. JMO
 
Hi Ice, I know the question wasn’t for me, and I agree the ship really had to be set back to sail.

The concerns from family might be: he’s still on the ship somewhere, deceased. And if it were foul play involving a crew member, a suspect or witness might still be on the ship and now away to another sailing or port.

jmo
JMO but if he was deceased and still on the ship, hidden away, I think it would have become apparent by now, unless his body was hidden in a freezer.

I don’t understand the outcry on social media against Carnival, calling for a boycott, etc. The ship has been searched, the coast guard has suspended their search, and I don’t see why Carnival is being blamed.
 
I could understand jumping ship if he was in another country. But he was seen onboard during that final night at sea. So why jump once they're back in Miami? He could have simply walked off the ship normally and then disappeared. I don't really get what going through all this would buy him.

Plus, the logistics of getting off the ship without anyone seeing him would be a giant hurdle. I doubt he was familiar enough to know Customs and Border Patrol procedures, the locations of surveillance cameras, the inner bowels of the ship, etc. He'd have to know all that in order to engineer his disappearance. I suppose he could have had help on the inside, but even your average crew member is unlikely to be able to sneak off the ship unnoticed.

IMO, this info about his rap sheet points to self harm, if anything. Alcohol + depression can sometimes be a lethal combination.
 
It's been reported that Kevin served in the military for six years, but was he employed at the time of his disappearance?
I have been searching high and low to try to find this out and have not found anything yet that definitively says he was. I would also like to know if he was currently in any type of romantic relationship. I don't know if that is an important detail yet or not but I do believe that information could potentially be important.
 
JMO but if he was deceased and still on the ship, hidden away, I think it would have become apparent by now, unless his body was hidden in a freezer.

I don’t understand the outcry on social media against Carnival, calling for a boycott, etc. The ship has been searched, the coast guard has suspended their search, and I don’t see why Carnival is being blamed.
I don't read social media but will take your word for it that the family is taking this route to air their grievances. I'm surprised that they haven't filed a lawsuit since they seem to blame Carnival for KM's disappearance. There are some very aggressive "ship chasing" lawyers in Miami who would jump at the chance to sue a major cruise company if they thought there was a legitimate case. It's still early, and we might eventually hear about a lawsuit, but I think the family probably realizes that it would be an uphill battle to prove that Carnival is responsible for Kevin's disappearance. There also doesn't seem to be a maritime attorney who wants to pursue the matter. JMO
 
Thanks to those who shared the court documents. This certainly puts KM's "disappearance" in a new light. I've been wondering why the family hasn't sued Carnival since they seem convinced that the cruise line is somehow responsible for Kevin being missing. To the best of my knowledge, the family hasn't been pursued by a local attorney to file a lawsuit - maybe because attorneys are aware of KM's criminal record and suspect that he jumped overboard to avoid consequences or is on the run. JMO

IMO, the biggest barrier/reason for no lawsuit or legal action so far is that KM's whereabouts are unknown. It's unlikely that KM's prior legal issues are a reason right now.



A couple of recent articles about legal cases regarding cruise lines.

IMO/I Am Not a Lawyer - would Kevin not have to be declared legally dead (or something to that effect) before the family could file a lawsuit?
 
IMO, the biggest barrier/reason for no lawsuit or legal action so far is that KM's whereabouts are unknown. It's unlikely that KM's prior legal issues are a reason right now...
IMO/I Am Not a Lawyer - would Kevin not have to be declared legally dead (or something to that effect) before the family could file a lawsuit?

Yes. Plus, it occurs to me now, this is likely a police/FBI investigation, so cruiseline can't actually release any info. I can't help but think family must know that, too.

(And if you think about this as an escape, the whole story turns upside down).

JMO
 
This new revelation of Kevin's legal troubles certainly provides a possible motive to "disappear." I have never been on a cruise so don't know how easy it would be to execute such an escape unnoticed, but I guess if there's careful planning and you're not too inebriated, there may be a way.

My hunch is that if anyone in Kevin's family knows what really happened, it's probably his twin brother. I'd love to observe an actual interview of Andre McGrath, not just read about it. Has anyone seen a video of Andre relating his version of events? So far, I've seen only his sister speaking out and, later, his father's account. Both just repeated what the brother said. Upthread there was mention that the sister wasn't even on the cruise.
 
He's already on probation for a felony. Terms always say you can't commit further crimes while on probation, and he's being charged with criminal neglect of child support.

This seems pretty clear, he's hiding out somewhere. To me.
Having legal trouble should not make it “clear” that he intentionally disappeared versus something happening to him. That is in no way an indication. Millions of people every day show up to court when they have charges.
Additionally, your comments are not very “victim friendly”

For the record regarding probation violation and criminal child support charges. Like I mentioned before, most Judges will do whatever possible to not put the person in jail. The goal is to pay a bill. That is not possible if they are incarcerated. Additionally, if someone is arrested in failure to pay, their bond is generally set at a percentage of the past due support amount. This payment gets them back on track and quickly out of jail. Unless someone has zero resources at all, they generally don’t sit in jail for child support charges.
 
If he did disembark in Bimini and didn’t return to the ship, then I’m thinking someone had his cruise card and scanned him in as coming back onto the ship. If there are cameras at the ship entrance, it should be easy enough for Carnival to verify KM did get back onboard.
If someone else used his card to scan him in, then they would show up missing…. If one less person gets back on the ship, they are going to know unless someone on the crew does something to cover it up, or screws up royally.
 
If someone else used his card to scan him in, then they would show up missing…. If one less person gets back on the ship, they are going to know unless someone on the crew does something to cover it up, or screws up royally.
I asked early on if he and his twin brother are identical. They could have done a creative switcheroo or used their similar appearance to avoid a scan or traded badges.
 
I asked early on if he and his twin brother are identical. They could have done a creative switcheroo or used their similar appearance to avoid a scan or traded badges.
How? 2 people get off, 1 person gets back on is always going to equal -1 and trigger flags. Having been to multiple destinations and seen the way the handle security, I stand by the fact that in my Carnival experience they could not have gotten away with anything without inside help.
 
If someone else used his card to scan him in, then they would show up missing…. If one less person gets back on the ship, they are going to know unless someone on the crew does something to cover it up, or screws up royally.
I was thinking one person holding two cards - scanning BOTH cards, one after another. Or are there turnstiles of some sort at the Bimini port dockway boat entrance, forcing only one person / one pass to enter at a time?
 
I was thinking one person holding two cards - scanning BOTH cards, one after another. Or are there turnstiles of some sort at the Bimini port dockway boat entrance, forcing only one person / one pass to enter at a time?
I never scanned the cards. You had to hand it to the staff, who scanned it and compared the photo on the screen to you. They’re staff scanning the card counted. The turnstile was a backup. Additionally you had to go through a security scan.
 
When criminal charges are filed in a child support delinquency case, that in no way means the person is going to jail. The courts try to give the person whatever opportunities they can to get caught up. If they send them to jail, they definitely won’t pay and will get further behind. Generally, after charges are filed, the Judge will review the case, garnish wages, give X days to pay X amount. Then follow up. The threat of jail will be over their head the entire time, but it is in no way a definite. Courts will follow up every month until they are back on track.

Regarding being voluntarily missing…having cruised on several Carnival ships out of Miami, I honestly can’t see how he could have gotten off the ship without it being noticed unless he went overboard at night. Anytime during the day, there are people every. When you are at a port, you go through a scanner, they identify you, there are cameras, they count and recount. We had to sit at the port in Cozumel for 3 extra hours once because one lady had a few too many at Fat Tuesdays and lost track of time. Her friends actually didn’t even know she was missing. They thought she was in her room passed out. It system they have scans the scared and accounts for every person getting in and off the ship.
That must have been a while ago. They leave people in port all the time now. You late... you miss the ship. And once they pull away, they are NOT coming back for you. Sometimes a speedboat may run you out to them, but its definately tightened up on waiting. And i do believe its possible to be 'missed' either getting off or getting back on. Glitches happen AND he has a twin brother. Could he hide out on the ship and stay on... My opinion.. absolutely. And with help from a crew member you possibly romanced ..... ABSOLUTELY. I've been in areas of the ship i was not technically allowed to be in. There are always ways....
 
I never scanned the cards. You had to hand it to the staff, who scanned it and compared the photo on the screen to you. They’re staff scanning the card counted. The turnstile was a backup. Additionally you had to go through a security scan.
Then KM must have gotten back onto the ship in Bimini. He had to have gone overboard, whether intentionally, or through misadventure or foul play.

jmo
 
That must have been a while ago. They leave people in port all the time now. You late... you miss the ship. And once they pull away, they are NOT coming back for you. Sometimes a speedboat may run you out to them, but its definately tightened up on waiting. And i do believe its possible to be 'missed' either getting off or getting back on. Glitches happen AND he has a twin brother. Could he hide out on the ship and stay on... My opinion.. absolutely. And with help from a crew member you possibly romanced ..... ABSOLUTELY. I've been in areas of the ship i was not technically allowed to be in. There are always ways....
Most recent was 2019.
I absolutely agree glitches are possible. Statistically thought, what are the chances a rare glitch happened at the same time he was trying to sneak off the ship?
I would start looking to how they dispose of trash when they get in port. Did that ship have sensors? Simpler avenues that don’t involve an elaborate conspiracy. JMOO
 

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