The Navy ended its search-and-rescue efforts in the Arabian Sea on Friday without finding a missing sailor believed to have gone overboard from the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln earlier this week.
The missing sailor, whose identity has not been released, is assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5. The sailor is believed to have gone overboard the morning of July 17, according to a Navy news release.
The search efforts were called off after what Navy officials said were extensive attempts to locate the missing sailor. The sailor's family has been notified, the release states.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and shipmates of our lost Sailor," Vice Adm. Jim Malloy, head of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and 5th Fleet, said in a statement.
A man-overboard report on Wednesday promoted a search-and-rescue effort carried out by several ships including the Lincoln, guided-missile cruiser Leyte Gulf and Spanish frigate Méndez Núñez. Navy Patrol Squadrons 10 and 40 also searched for the sailor from the air.
"During this tragic time, I want to thank the Spanish Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate Méndez Núñez for their assistance in the search operations, and all the Sailors involved in the search for their valiant efforts to find our shipmate," Malloy said.
The sailor remains listed as "Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown," officials said. The sailor's helicopter squadron is part of Carrier Air Wing 7, which is assigned to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.
The carrier strike group has been in the region for more than a month to patrol the area amid threats from Iran.
-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.
