Search continues for woman who fell from cruise ship

Coast Guard rescue units continued Saturday to search the Gulf of Mexico for a woman who fell off a Carnival cruise ship early Friday morning.

The agency has dispatched HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Mobile, Ala., to scour the waters 200 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas, according to a Coast Guard statement.

Carnival Liberty passenger Samantha Broberg, 33, of Arlington, Texas, apparently fell off the ship at 2 a.m. Friday. Carnival Cruises issued a statement confirmed that video footage captured the image of someone falling overboard. An extensive roll call of passengers Friday revealed that Broberg was no longer on board. The search started midday Friday, when those traveling with Broberg reported her missing.

Broberg's family continued to hold out hope for her rescue. In a statement that appeared on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's website, the family said it was "shocked and deeply saddened by the incident that occurred on the Carnival cruise ship,” statement says. “We hope and pray the U.S. Coast Guard is able to bring Samantha home."

The Carnival ship left Galveston Thursday on a planned four-day trip to Mexico.

According to the Paulick Report, which writes about thoroughbred horse racing, Broberg is the wife of thoroughbred horse trainer Karl Broberg, who was not aboard the ship. The report said the couple has four children. ThoroughbredDailyNews.com also reported the same news about the couple.

An ESPN article in December noted that Broberg had the most wins of any trainer in the nation. "As of Dec. 23, he had 418 wins on the year and was well on his way to wrapping up his second straight title as the top trainer in the nation in terms of wins. ... He has said his goal is to increase his 2016 win total to at least 500," ESPN's Bill Finley wrote.

Follow Paste BN tech reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter: @marcodellacava