In a report published by the Associated Press crews have been searching for a Marine Corps helicopter that was transporting five troops from Nevada to California.
The helicopter was reported overdue early Wednesday following what has been described as a historic storm. The helicopter was a CH-53E Super Stallion from the Creech Air Force base located Northwest of Las Vegas where they were conducting unit-level training and then heading back to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego according to officials.
It is unknown at the time of writing what time the helicopter had left the base nor what time it was due to arrive. The five marines were assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Miramar in a statement from the Marine Corps. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department was notified that the Helicopter was overdue for its arrival in Miramar at 1 am and that it was last seen near the area of Pine Valley which is a mountainous region near the Cleaveland National Forest about 35 miles east of San Diego.
The military has been coordinating search and rescue efforts with the police and the Civil Air Patrol. Regarding the storm that the helicopter was allegedly lost in The National Weather Service in San Diego predicted a heavy rainfall of up to 10 inches along with gusty winds following Tuesday's warnings of a potential tornado. However, that warning was canceled following the discovery that a twister was unable to form.
It should be noted that this is not the only report covering the rise in extreme weather patterns in recent years. HNGN has also reported on this troubling trend and in addition, even the military is looking into developing artificial reefs to boost coastal protection.
