Cruise ends in tragedy

A week-long vacation ended in tragedy for an IU student's boyfriend in Tampa, Fla., early Sunday. \nMichael Hepner was found floating unconscious two miles off the coast by a U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter, Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin told The Associated Press. Hepner, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 6:45 a.m.\nHepner got into an argument with his girlfriend, junior Rebecca Brown, and climbed over the rail of the Carnival Cruise Line's Sensation ship. The 19-year-old man then lowered himself down the side of the ship as Brown begged him to return, Durkin said. Investigators told The Associated Press that Hepner could not lift himself back onto the deck, and before he could be rescued, he fell into the bay at around 3 a.m.\nThe Carnival Cruise ship was returning to port after a seven-day western Caribbean cruise. \nJennifer de la Cruz, director of public relations for Carnival, said the ship was notified of a man overboard around 3 a.m. Sunday.\nThe ship was stopped and a lifeboat launched after the man-overboard call.\n"We contacted the Coast Guard," de la Cruz said. "It is my understanding that at somewhere around 4 a.m. the Coast Guard did find the guest in question and transferred him to a local medical facility."\nThe search is being investigated in Tampa, de la Cruz said. He also said investigators were trying to determine whether the death was accidental. \nHepner and Brown were high school sweethearts who grew up in Lowell, Ind. \nCarnival Cruise Lines' policy is to always do an internal analysis after situations like this occur, de la Cruz said. She said the company is also trying to help Hepner's family through this painful time.\n"We have been in touch with family members, and in a situation like this we always try to offer any assistance that we can," de la Cruz said. "This is extremely rare. We're very saddened here at Carnival, and we send our regrets to the family and friends of the victim."\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.