UPDATE (8/21/17 6:17 pm):

Officials have suspended the search for the five missing soldiers who were in a helicopter crash during offshore training in Hawaii last week, the Associated Press reports.

After days of searching about 68,000 nautical miles, rescue crews have found no signs of life or of the crew that went missing on Aug. 15.

Searchers found what appeared to be pieces of helicopter fuselage and a helmet. The debris field dispersed with strong currents to remote, deep areas of the ocean.

The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.


Original Story:

stephen cantrell

Stephen Cantrell Image provided by Cantrell family
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32-year-old Stephen Cantrell, a 2003 graduate of Hirschi High School, has been identified by family members as one of five military members reported missing after their Blackhawk helicopter crashed into the ocean.

The crew was reported missing off of Kaena Point near Honolulu at around 9:30 p.m. August 15th. According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the crew was on a night-training mission with another Black Hawk helicopter. The missing soldiers are attached to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade’s 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment.

The Honolulu Fire Department’s rescue boat has reportedly recovered a piece of fuselage and a helmet and turned it over to the Army. The search area has been expanded and has become a multi-agency search and rescue mission.

ABC News reports that all five crew members had life vests and an air bottle for underwater breathing. All Black Hawk crews reportedly undergo underwater crash and survival training including simulations on how to free themselves in the event of a crash. There was not a life raft onboard the helicopter.

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