VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says she's saddened to learn of the death of a Coast Guard member during a drug-interdiction mission in the Channel Islands off Southern California.
Napolitano says the tragedy is a reminder of the dangers faced by men and women in uniform every day while protecting the nation.
Authorities say Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III died Sunday after suffering a traumatic head injury when a suspected smuggling boat rammed the small boat he was aboard near Santa Cruz Island.
Horne and another crewman were thrown into the water.