OAN’s James Meyers and Sophia Flores
UPDATED: 11:06 AM – Wednesday, February 7, 2024
The U.S. Marine Corps has located the helicopter carrying five Marines from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California. It went missing on Wednesday morning .
“The aircraft was located by civil authorities in Pine Valley, California at 9:08 AM PST on February 7, 2024,” the statement stated. “The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing is managing search and rescue efforts through the Wings Operations Command Center and using ground and aviation assets to locate the aircrew in coordination with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and multiple federal, state and local agencies. The most up-to-date information will be released as soon as it becomes available.”
LT. Matthew Carpenter, a spokesperson for the San Diego County Sheriff’s office, stated the search operation started at 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning.
The search team was dispatched to the eastern part of San Diego in the area of the Cleveland National Forest, where the helicopter was last located.
A search team includes a multi-agency effort, that includes Border Patrol and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
However, the area had rough terrain and heavy snow according to Carpenter. The search also comes during extreme weather in the San Diego area that had heavy rain and a rare tornado warning
It is not known if the first responders have located the Marines who were onboard the aircraft.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
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