Man went overboard from the Holland America Westerdam near the Beardslee Islands in Glacier Bay National Park

A man who went overboard from a cruise ship in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve was in the water for about nine hours before he was reported missing, according to authorities.

Video cameras captured the man going overboard from the Holland America Westerdam early Friday, but neither the National Park Service nor Holland America officials would say Monday whether it appeared to be accidental. The ship's railings are 43.5 inches high, according to Holland America.

The general area where the 69-year-old entered the water in Sitakaday Narrows near the mouth of Glacier Bay is “a really turbulent area of the bay, a lot of whirlpools," Glacier Bay spokesman Matthew Cahill said Monday evening. "They were approximately at the Beardslee Islands, at the north end of Young Island.”

The missing man and his wife, who have not been identified, were on a seven-day voyage aboard the Westerdam that had departed Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 8. His wife reported him missing shortly before 4 p.m. Friday when he failed to show up for a medical appointment for an undisclosed condition.

“At that time, the crew conducted a full ship search, and after he was not located, the CCTV footage was reviewed, and the preliminary review of that provided the time," Sally Andrews, Holland America's vice president for public relations, said Monday evening. 

While Ms. Andrews wouldn't say what time the video indicated the man going overboard, the park spokesman said, "(T)he ship has evidence that they were able to discover in the afternoon that he went overboard about 6:45 a.m.”

The FBI was investigating the incident, which Ms. Andrews said was standard protocol for maritime incidents. 

The Westerdam had sailed up the 65-mile-long bay and back out before the man was reported missing, according to Mr. Cahill.

"They spent the entire day in Glacier Bay," he said. "They were actually outside the bay by the time they reported him missing and the search began. They were right outside the entrance. ... When we were notified at approximately 7:30 p.m. by the Coast Guard, we mobilized a staff of 15 individuals on the search and rescue effort. Three NPS vesssles, and one contracted fixed wing aircraft. And there were commercial and private vessels involved as well, but I don’t have numbers for that.”

The Park Service search was suspended Saturday evening.

Mr. Cahill said he could not recall the last time someone went overboard from a cruise ship in the park.

"I've worked around here for 20 years and I know of only two during that period," he said. "It’s rare, very rare.”