COUNTYWIDE : Body of Marine Recovered at Sea

Navy divers from a salvage submarine recovered the body of a Marine lost since a forced helicopter landing in the ocean about three miles off Carpinteria two weeks ago, authorities said.

Divers on Monday extracted the body of Lance Cpl. Jeffrey B. Johns, 22, of Uniontown, Ohio, from the sunken U.S. Marine Corps helicopter, Marine Capt. Betsy Sweatt said.

The helicopter made an emergency landing in the water while a storm lashed the mainland, but Sweatt said it was not yet determined whether the accident was storm-related.

Coast Guard authorities said the helicopter’s engine apparently caught fire just before it went down. Sweatt said the incident is under investigation by the Marine Corps Aviation Mishap Board.

Shortly after the forced landing, eight other Marines were rescued from a raft by Navy helicopters from the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station.

The helicopter has not yet been recovered from about 150 feet of water, Sweatt said.

The Marines will hold a memorial service for Johns at 1 p.m. Thursday at the chapel on the Marine Corps Air Station at Tustin. Funeral services will be held in his hometown.

Johns, an avionics technician, was a member of a Marine helicopter squadron at Tustin. The CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter in which Johns was being airlifted with the eight other Marines was on its way to Fort Ord, in Northern California, from Tustin for routine training.