The girlfriend of a man who fell overboard from a cruise ship has been left devastated after authorities called off their search - despite her belief that he could still be alive.
Warwick Tollemache, from Brisbane, Australia, fell from the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship roughly 870 miles south of Hawaii on Tuesday, April 25.
The US coastguard was immediately called in to help search for the 35-year-old from both sea and air, however efforts were officially suspended just two days later, the Mirror reports.
His partner of six years Celina La Roche, who he was holidaying with at the time, paid tribute to him in a heartbreaking post, writing: "I love you, always have and always will. RIP my love.'
Celina added in an interview: "They should have kept looking – I don't understand why they stopped the search. I'm just devastated.
"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."
Celina said she won't have closure until his body is found.
Coastguard crews carried out an in-depth search of the area where Warwick fell in, however the hunt became "almost impossible" after large overnight swells made conditions difficult.
Warwick's family and Australian officials were both consulted before the decision was made to call off the search.
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.
"We kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time. Thank you for your understanding."
After news broke that the search has been being halted, friends and relatives took to social media to share their heartache.
"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.
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."
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."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
