Sailor Missing for a Week Was Hiding on Ship

A sailor who vanished a week ago while aboard a guided missile cruiser and was presumed drowned off the Virginia coast had been hiding in a storeroom, the Navy said.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin Corr, 27, emerged Tuesday night from the 12-by-8-foot room on the Cape St. George, sought out the ship’s chaplain and was admitted to sick bay, the Navy said. He was reported in stable condition Wednesday.

A Navy spokesman would not comment on whether Corr had water, food or toilet facilities while he was in hiding.

Cmdr. Dennis Moynihan said he did not know if Corr was in the storeroom the whole time. The room has a ventilation fan and is used to store boxes, he said.

Corr had failed to report to his duty station during a drill Jan. 31 about 20 miles off Virginia. More than 2,000 Navy and Coast Guard personnel aboard eight ships, two cutters and three helicopters searched for him for two days before giving up.

Corr’s family in Troy, Mich., had started arranging a memorial service when Navy officers arrived to inform them that he is alive. His obituary appeared in Wednesday’s newspapers.