After searching an area of more than 5,500 square miles off the coast of Japan, the U. S. Navy has located a sailor who went missing a week ago hiding in an engine room of his ship.
After searching an area of more than 5,500 square miles off the coast of Japan, the U. S. Navy has located a sailor who went missing a week ago hiding in an engine room of his ship.
The Navy Times reports that Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Mims was discovered by crew members who had been looking for him for days. It was not clear why he hid in one of the engine rooms of the guided missile cruiser USS Shiloh or how he survived for a week there.
It was thought that Mims had fallen overboard when he was reported missing June 8. U. S. and Japanese ships and aircraft spent 50 hours searching the ocean for him before calling off the search.
Crew members on board the Shiloh continued to look for Mims on the ship.
Mims is now due to be transferred via helicopter to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier for a medical evaluation.
«We are thankful to have found our missing shipmate and appreciate all the hard work of our sailors and Japanese partners in searching for him, » said Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander, Carrier Strike Group 5 and Task Force 70, in a Navy statement.
«I am relieved that this sailor’s family will not be joining the ranks of Gold Star Families that have sacrificed so much for our country.»
The Navy Times reports that Mims enlisted in the Navy in 2014 and began serving on the Shiloh that year.
