SAN DIEGO, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard identified nine people missing off California following the apparently collision of one of its planes and a Marine Corps helicopter.
The search continued Saturday for any possible survivors of Thursday's accident over the Pacific Ocean involving a Coast Guard C-130 and a Super Cobra chopper off the coast from Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County.
Weather conditions in the region were ideal with clear skies and moderate winds and seas. The Coast Guard said in release that military aircraft and ships, along with Customs and Border Protection personnel, had combed 644 square miles.
The two missing Marine aviators were identified as Maj. Samuel Leigh, 35, Kennebec, Maine; and 1st Lt. Thomas Claiborne, 26, Douglas, Colo.
The Coast Guard crew, based in Sacramento, was identified as the pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Che Barnes, 35, Capay, Calif., and Lt. Adam. Bryant, 28, Crewe, Va., the co-pilot; Chief Petty Officer John Seidman, 43, Stockton, Calif.; and Petty Officers Carl Grigonis, 35, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, Monica Beacham, 29, Decaturville, Tenn., Jason Moletzsky, 26, Norristown, Pa., and Danny Kreder, 22, Elm Mott, Texas.
