One of the two U.S. sailors who have been missing for two weeks has been recovered dead, according to NATO spokesperson Tuesday.
Pentagon identified the body as Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley, a 30-year-old father of two from Wheatridge, Colorado, and the other missing sailor as Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, 25, of Renton, Washington. The Pentagon still doesn’t know where Newlove is or if he was captured.
Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a spokesman for NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan said, they are still looking for Newlove.
The two Navy personnel were in the eastern province of Logar when they went missing on Friday. This happened after an armored sport utility vehicle was spotted into an Area held by the Taliban. One of the men was killed in a firefight, while the other is held captive in a place that will not be found. This is according to the Taliban.
According to the statement of the NATO-led command, the body was recovered after a widespread search on Sunday, and that the captors are responsible for the safety and proper treatment of the missing service member.
The NATO officials are still uncertain on the reasons why the two service members were in that dangerous place in eastern Afghanistan.
According to senior military officials, the sailors were assigned at a counterinsurgency school for Afghan security forces. They also added that the school was in Kabul and that they were not supposed to be where the body was recovered.
