MANAMA, BAHRAIN. (THECOUNT) — Petty Officer 2nd Class Slayton Saldana has been identified as the sailor who was reported overboard from an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea last week. He remains missing.
Saldana, 24, an aviation electronics technician assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, has been listed as duty status whereabouts unknown, or DUSTWUN, 5th Fleet said in a statement late Sunday.
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The search was called off Friday after “extensive attempts to locate the sailor” involving three ships and aircraft from two patrol squadrons, 5th Fleet said. Saldana had been reported overboard Wednesday.
Vice Adm. Jim Malloy, the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces commander, said in a statement on Saturday that the command’s thoughts and prayers were with Saldana’s family, friends and shipmates, reports StarsAndStripes.
Saldana’s Facebook profile lists him as a native of San Antonio, Texas.
Some of the 24-year-old’s belongings had been found on the side of a ship catwalk early Wednesday morning, his fiancée Lexi Posey told the Bryan (Ohio) Times, her hometown newspaper, last week.
DEVELOPING::
Geo quick facts: Manama, the modern capital of the Arabian Gulf island nation of Bahrain, has been at the center of major trade routes since antiquity. Its acclaimed Bahrain National Museum showcases artifacts from the ancient Dilmun civilization that flourished in the region for millennia. The city’s thriving Bab el-Bahrain Souq offers wares from colorful handwoven fabrics and spices to pearls – wikipedia.