Air Force Academy probing cruise ship plunge

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A cadet portrayed in some news accounts as a hero for diving off a cruise ship to rescue a female companion who had gone overboard is under investigation by the Air Force Academy.

Junior Cadet Ernesto Guzman, 22, who had been aboard the Grand Princess on a spring break cruise on March 25, plunged from several stories into the Gulf of Mexico.

Initial accounts said Guzman dived overboard to rescue 20-yearold Clarice Partee, a University of Colorado student, and survived for hours in the water because of his Air Force water-survival training.

The two were pulled from the water after a search involving the Coast Guard, the cruise ship and several nearby vessels.

Several sources at the academy said officials there have fielded complaints about Guzman's behavior on the ship and have heard a flurry of rumors about how the couple went over the side....