 Navy Times -- ROSWELL, N.M. — A 24-year-old sailor from southern New Mexico has been declared dead after apparently going overboard in the Arabian Sea, military officials announced Monday.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Menelek M. Brown of Roswell went missing Thursday morning while the destroyer Hopper was conducting maritime security operations, according to the Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain.
“A ‘man overboard’ was immediately called and air and surface forces from the Hopper, cruiser Port Royal and frigate Ingraham began conducting search and rescue operations,” the central command said in a statement.
Lt. John Gay, a spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet, said at the time that water temperatures in the part of the Arabian Sea where the sailor went overboard were about 79 degrees.
Despite the search effort, Brown could not be found. He was declared dead Friday, according to the Department of Defense.
USS Hopper, which has a home port at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is deployed to the 5th Fleet’s area of operations. Bahrain an oil-refining and banking island in the Arabian sea, hosts the 5th Fleet. |
I would just like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your family and loved ones, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.
Fair Winds And Following Seas