Search for mariner missing from Norfolk-based Navy cargo ship suspended after 30 hours

The search for a civil service mariner has been suspended after he disappeared from a Norfolk-based cargo ship off the coast of Virginia.

The 30-hour search for Charles Lee Reese, of Mississippi, was called off Thursday afternoon.

Reese was reported missing from USNS Medgar Evers Wednesday around 10:30 a.m., said LaShawn Sykes, a spokesperson for Military Sealift Command. The ship was off the coast of Virginia when the mariner was discovered to be missing.

Search and rescue crews from the Coast Guard and the Navy covered approximately 1,500-square nautical miles off the coast of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

“We diligently searched the vast area by air and sea but unfortunately were unable to locate the victim. Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with the family of the missing man, as well as our U.S. Navy partners during this trying time,” said Commander Robert Gomez, Deputy Sector Commander for Coast Guard Sector North Carolina.

USNS Medgar Evers is a near 700-foot-long Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship that delivers supplies to the Navy and allied ships while at sea. Military Sealift Command ships are crewed by civilian merchant mariners.

Reese reported to Medgar Evers in August. The circumstances of his disappearance are under investigation.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com