Remains of Five US Marines Found at Helicopter Crash Site in Southern California

CBS News reports the remains of five U.S. Marines have been found at the wreckage site of their heavy-lift helicopter.  It went down in southern California, during severe weather conditions.

The team had been travelling from Creech Air Force Base in Clark County, Nevada, to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.  This was part of a training mission.

The last known location of the chopper was recorded at 11:30 Tuesday night; and it was reported as overdue by 1:00 a.m. Wednesday (local time – PST).

Emergency search crews from several agencies had to travel on foot, through the rocky, mountainous terrain, where the wreckage had been identified, east of San Diego.  The location is not far from the U.S. border with Mexico.

That severe weather and heavy cloud cover had prevented crews from rolling in faster, or deploying a search helicopter.

Identities of the lost Marines won’t be shared until 24-hours after next-of-kin are notified.  Efforts to recover remains are underway.  Investigation continues.