US Navy Recovers Body of Missing Sailor in Gulf of Oman

A U.S. Navy rescue swimmer guided by search helicopters retrieved the body today of an American sailor who went overboard from the USS Halsey in the Gulf of Oman, the military says.

The victim's name is being withheld pending family notification, but CNN quoted an unidentified U.S. military official as saying the sailor was a woman.

The Navy posted a statement on its website today saying that when the sailor failed to report for duty on Tuesday, "a man overboard was called." Helicopters from the USS Halsey as well as others from nearby U.S. and British naval ships assisted in the search. "The incident is under investigation," the statement said.

Dustin Kelling, U.S. Navy

The body of a sailor who went overboard from the guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey, above, has been found in the Gulf of Oman.

The Halsey, a guided-missile destroyer, is based in San Diego and is currently deployed with the Navy's 5th Fleet. As part of that role, it conducts "maritime security operations," the Navy statement said.

A 5th Fleet spokesman, Lt. Frederick Martin, told the Stars and Stripes newspaper that the sailor was a woman and that her body was retrieved by a rescue swimmer early today about 75 miles east of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Water temperature at the time was around 75 degrees, with swells of roughly 2 feet, he said. The air temperature was about 70 degrees, he added.