Authorities initiated an urgent search for a missing Marine helicopter and its five crew members after the aircraft vanished in the East County on Wednesday morning. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department was called upon for assistance by the Marine Corps shortly before 2 a.m., following the helicopter's disappearance, officials informed ABC 10News.
The CH-53E Super Stallion from the "Flying Tigers" of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361 aircraft took off from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada on Tuesday. It was on a routine flight to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar when bound for California, it failed to arrive as scheduled. In a race against time and battling inclement weather, multiple agencies, including Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Border Patrol, have deployed resources to canvass the Cleveland National Forest. In this location, the last signal from the missing helicopter was received, as reported by USNI News.
The search effort has been hampered by cold and snowy conditions, hindering the response of helicopters from the sheriff's department and other agencies. Ground crews and sheriff's search and rescue teams have been deployed, expanding their search from the last known signal, hoping to find the missing aircraft and its crew.
"The U.S. Marine Corps is searching for five U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing," the Marine officials stated in their search for the overdue Super Stallion. Drones provided by the U.S. Border Patrol have also been thrown into the mix, while the Civil Air Patrol is coordinating with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and local departments to support the search efforts.
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