Navy and Coast Guard personnel continue to search for a USS Theodore Roosevelt sailor who went overboard Thursday morning.
The sailor was spotted by a lookout Thursday morning, according to a press release from U.S. 3rd Fleet. The resulting command-wide muster confirmed that one sailor was indeed missing from the USS TR.
Search and rescue efforts now include U.S. Navy aircraft, the USS Bunker Hill, the USS Russell, the USS Howard, the USS Charleston and other Coast Guard personnel.
The USS TR left San Diego Monday for a scheduled deployment just five months after it returned from its previous deployment in July. In mid-October, the Navy reported that a USS TR crew member died by suicide as the crew prepared to redeploy.
The USS TR garnered national media attention at the beginning of the pandemic when a quarter of its crew was infected with COVID-19 and its captain was controversially relieved of his position for raising red flags about the outbreak onboard. The first and only active-duty service member killed by the virus remains a USS TR sailor.
As the search for the overboard USS TR sailor continues, this article will be updated with additional information.