The U.S. military has shifted from searching for a missing Marine off the Southern California coast to recovering him, after a multi-day effort across thousands of square miles of the Pacific failed to find him.
Missing during training
The Marine, assigned to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, went missing early Thursday while taking part in training aboard the USS Anchorage, a San Diego-based amphibious transport dock ship, the Associated Press reported. The exercise was being conducted with the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, the naval task force the Marine unit deploys with.
Search-and-rescue operations began at 1:21 a.m. Thursday, according to Times of San Diego. The Navy has not released the Marine's name, in keeping with the standard practice of withholding identities until the next of kin has been notified.
A vast search
Crews searched roughly 2,400 square miles of ocean — an area larger than Delaware — over more than 40 hours, drawing aircraft and ships from across the military for the effort, NBC 7 San Diego reported. Despite the scale of the operation, the Marine was not found.
The Navy announced that the mission transitioned from search and rescue to search and recovery on Friday night — a designation that signals officials no longer expect to find the Marine alive. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all who are affected during this difficult time," the Navy said in a statement.
What's not yet known
The precise circumstances of how the Marine went missing have not been disclosed. Officials have not said whether he went overboard from the ship or disappeared during a water-based portion of the training. The USS Anchorage is homeported at Naval Base San Diego, and amphibious units routinely rehearse at-sea operations in the waters off Southern California before deploying.
The Marine Corps has not said when the service member's identity might be released, or how long recovery efforts will continue. This is a developing story.
