1 Sailor Drowns in Swollen River; Another Missing

The body of a Coronado-based Navy beachmaster was found Thursday and another beachmaster was still missing after the two were knocked from their vehicle into the rushing waters of the Santa Margarita River at Camp Pendleton Wednesday night, Navy officials said.

Most of the search for the two men, missing since 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, had been called off late Thursday afternoon, but the body of one beachmaster was found not much later at the Del Mar Beach Boat Basin jetty.

“I’m sure everybody’s upset,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Smallwood. “The military is a very close-knit family, if you will. Everyone’s just hoping and praying.”

The two beachmasters, whose names are being withheld pending notification of relatives, were with a seven-member team riding in two quarter-ton, jeep-like vehicles called Humvees. They were trying to cross the rain-swollen Santa Margarita River, which empties into the ocean, while finishing a routine training mission.

Officials said the team was unaware that the river had risen and grown unusually rough because of recent storms. The beachmasters tried to back the Humvees--high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles--out of the water after realizing it was too deep to cross, but the two vehicles began to twist and sink into the mud.

According to Navy officials, all seven men scrambled to the top of the Humvees to avoid the rushing water. Four of the men on top of one vehicle swam to shore.

The other three beachmasters sat on top of the second vehicle, which was planted on a sandbar, for about half an hour before a strong current knocked them into the water. One beachmaster was able to get away safely, but the other two were caught in the current, Smallwood said.

“It just kind of caught them by surprise,” Smallwood said. “They are very familiar with that area. The river is usually just a trickle. But they were operating at night and couldn’t tell it was so high.”

A search party consisting of the Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard and Oceanside authorities combed the area Wednesday night and part of Thursday. The Coast Guard called off its search about noon Thursday, said Coast Guard Chief Michael Johnson.

The Coast Guard had searched for the two men by helicopter and from a patrol boat for more than two hours Wednesday night and for four hours Thursday. Navy officials said Marines and Oceanside authorities were still walking up and down the coast Thursday in hopes of finding the men.

After the body of one of the beachmasters was found early Thursday night, the search continued for the other missing man, a Navy spokesman said.

The beachmasters are in charge of amphibious landings, and Wednesday they were undergoing refresher training, said Navy Lt. Tina Tallman.

Formally called the Beachmaster Unit 1 Beach Party Team, the beachmasters are stationed at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado.

Humvees, a relatively new vehicle replacing the jeep, are shorter and wider than their predecessors so they won’t overturn, Smallwood said. Humvees were used extensively in the Persian Gulf War.

One of the Humvees was still stuck in the Santa Margarita River Thursday night.