Weather Hampers Search for Missing Marines in California's Pine Valley

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A search-and-rescue operation for five missing US Marines continued on Wednesday, February 7, after their military helicopter was found in California’s Pine Valley, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said in a statement.

The marines went missing when they were on a routine training flight on a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada’s Clark County to MCAS Miramar in San Diego.

The helicopter was reported overdue Tuesday, and crews located the chopper in Pine Valley just after 9 am on Wednesday morning, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said.

This footage was posted to X by San Diego County Fire, one of the organizations assisting with the search and rescue efforts, who said snow was making the area harder to access and search.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said it was using 4×4 Jeeps to search the area due to a mix of snow and rain. “The Sheriff’s ASTREA (helicopter) Unit has a crew on standby and ready to launch if weather conditions change and allow for safer flying conditions,” the department said. Credit: CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire via Storyful

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