12 Marines missing after crash in Hawaii declared dead

Marines in Hawaii search for their missing colleagues. — (Image credit: Twitter.com/KPRC2)

The 12 U.S. Marines who went missing on Jan. 14 after their helicopters crashed off the coast of Oahu have been officially declared dead.

The Marine Corps said the status of the Marines was changed to deceased on Wednesday, following five full days of search and rescue operations, The Associated Press reports. The Marines are: Maj. Shawn M. Campbell, 41, of College Station, Texas; Capt. Brian T. Kennedy, 31, of Philadelphia; Capt. Kevin T. Roche, 30, of St. Louis; Capt. Steven R. Torbert, 29, of Florence, Alabama; Sgt. Dillon J. Semolina, 24, of Chaska, Minnesota; Sgt. Adam C. Schoeller, 25, of Gardners, Pennsylvania; Sgt. Jeffrey A. Sempler, 22, of Woodruff, South Carolina; Sgt. William J. Turner, 25, of Florala, Alabama; Cpl. Matthew R. Drown, 23, of Spring, Texas; Cpl. Thomas J. Jardas, 22, of Fort Meyers, Florida; Cpl. Christopher J. Orlando, 23, of Hingham, Massachusetts; and Lance Cpl. Ty L. Hart, 21, of Aumsville, Oregon.

The two CH-53E helicopters were on a nighttime training mission and never returned to the base at Kaneohe Bay. A civilian standing on a beach reported seeing the helicopters, then a fireball. Hours after the Marines went missing, debris was spotted about two and a half miles off of Oahu.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.