USCG: 'It is with heavy hearts that we make the decision to suspend the search' for missing woman

The search for a 40-year-old woman from Houston who fell off a cruise ship near the coast of Alaska has been suspended, according to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported. 

Selena Pau Pres went overboard from the Celebrity Solstice last Tuesday (May 17), some 20 miles northwest of Juneau, per the USCG, the station reported. 

USCG Lieutenant Junior Grade Trevor Layman with the Sector Juneau Command Center said in a statement that the decision was made "despite our best efforts," according to KHOU. 

"It is with heavy hearts that we make the decision to suspend the search," Layman said.

Layman added that factors such as the weather, sea state and water temperature attributed to the USCG's decision, per the station.

According to KHOU, the captain of the Solstice told authorities that Pres fell off the ship around 3:40 a.m. on Tuesday.

The station reported that the search covered 68 square nautical miles and more than nine hours prior to the suspension.

Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported that Alaskan authorities are now conducting a death investigation.

The Alaska State Troopers (AST) confirmed the identity of the passenger, according to the station.

"The Alaska State Troopers' Alaska Bureau of Investigation is conducting a death investigation into this incident, which is standard practice for law enforcement in most deaths that occur in Alaska," Austin McDaniel, the law enforcement agency's communications director, said, KTRK reported.

According to Houston NBC affiliate KPRC, the air temperature in Juneau around the time Pres went missing was 51 degrees Fahrenheit, while the water temperature logged in at 41 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Because of the searching that we’ve done, it has yielded negative results,” USCG Petty Officer Ali Blackburn said, per KPRC.