Search For U.S. Marine Who Went Missing Off The Coast Of California Takes Tragic Turn

This isn’t what you want to hear when a loved one has gone missing.

A U.S. Marine went missing off the coast of California on Thursday.

The Marine went missing while participating in a training exercise on the USS Anchorage and has not been found since.

The U.S. Navy has been in charge of the search and rescue mission but their most recent move to turn the mission into a search and recovery mission is not a good sign.

Mystery as US Marine vanishes off massive amphibious ship off California coast https://t.co/OhhJQreO9Y pic.twitter.com/sR57NUUrcL

— California Post (@californiapost) June 28, 2026

AP reported more on the active search:

Multiple agencies continued to search Sunday for a U.S. Marine who went missing during a training exercise off the coast of southern California, military officials said.

Crews began searching for the Marine early Thursday morning, shortly after midnight, according to a Navy news release. The Marine was reported missing from the USS Anchorage during integrated training between the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all who are affected during this difficult time,” the Navy said in the news release this week about the missing Marine.

The Navy transitioned from search-and-rescue efforts to a search-and-recovery operation Friday evening. The Marine’s name was being withheld pending the notification of family.

The search has covered about 2,400 square miles (6,200 square kilometers) and involved three surface ships and 12 aircraft from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force, officials said.

This is the third incident of a U.S. Service member going missing within the last several weeks.

In May, two U.S. Army soldiers went missing during a training exercise in Africa.

CBS News had more details of the tragic accident:

The body of the second U.S. soldier who went missing in Morocco earlier this month, where thousands of troops were participating in an annual training exercise, has been recovered, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

“U.S. Africa Command confirms the recovery of our second Soldier, Spc. Mariyah Collington,” AFRICOM and U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa said in a joint statement. “We mourn her loss and stand with her family and the 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command community in this moment of grief.”

Collington, 19, and 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., 27, disappeared May 2 in waters off Morocco’s southern coast, near the Cap Draa Training Area, the Army said in a news release. Key’s body was recovered May 9.

Collington’s body was recovered Tuesday in a coastal cave about 500 meters from where the two went into the water, the Army said in a separate news release.

“Challenging ocean conditions, coastal terrain and the cave’s accessibility complicated search and recovery operations throughout the effort,” the Army said in a news release.

Devastating. The U.S. has recovered the remains of two soldiers who went missing on an off-duty hike after a military exercise in Morocco

Spc. Mariyah Symone Collington, 19

1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key, Jr., 27

RIP.

Say a prayer for their families 🙏 pic.twitter.com/RBiSeMXIAj

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 14, 2026