US Marine declared dead after being lost at sea during training operations in Southern California
Lance Crpl. Armando Ortiz Canseco was participating in a training exercise when he went missing.
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OCEANSIDE, Calif.– A U.S. Marine was declared dead after being lost at sea off the coast of Southern California in late June.
According to the U.S. Marine Corps, Lance Crpl. Armando Ortiz Canseco was reported missing from his ship, the USS Anchorage, on June 25.
The USS Anchorage arriving to Navy Days LA 2014.
(Ted Soqui/Corbis / Getty Images)
Ortiz Canseco was participating in a training exercise when he went missing.
The 21-year-old from Minnesota was declared dead on Saturday, June 27, after more than a day of extensive search and rescue operations, the Marine Corps said.
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"On behalf of the Marines and Sailors of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Lance Cpl. Ortiz Canseco," Col. Richard Alvarez, the commanding officer of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said. "He earned the title of United States Marine and served his country with honor and commitment. We mourn alongside his family, and we remain committed to bringing him home."
Lance Cpl. Armando Ortiz Canseco.
(U.S. Naval Institute / FOX Weather)
Ortiz Canseco enlisted in the U.S. Marines on April 3, 2023, and earned the title of United States Marine two months later on June 30.
His awards for time in the U.S. Marines included the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
He was aboard the USS Anchorage temporarily while in preparation for integrated training between the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, the U.S. Marine Corps said.
An aerial image taken on October 28, 2021 shows the Palos Verdes Peninsula (L) and cargo container ships (back) waiting in the Pacific Ocean to unload at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach as seen above the coast of Palos Verdes, California.
(Patrick T. FALLON / AFP / Getty Images)
"The loss of Lance Cpl. Ortiz Canseco is felt deeply across our entire Navy-Marine Corps team," Capt. Gary A. Harrington, the commodore of Amphibious Squadron 7, said. "The amphibious Navy exists to fight alongside the Marine Corps, and a loss to the Marine Corps family is a loss to our own. We are a resilient force, and we continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in support of Lance Cpl. Ortiz Canseco’s loved ones and our ongoing recovery operations."
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
The USS Anchorage entered into service in the Navy in 2013 and conducted its maiden deployment on May 11, 2015.