Search called off for Utah sailor who went missing near Guam

PITI, Guam (ABC4) — The search for a missing Utah sailor has been suspended after he had been reported missing during a scheduled port call in Guam.

Gabriel D. Holt, of Washington, Utah, who served on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz, was reported missing Saturday morning after the carrier performed a scheduled port call in the naval base in Piti, Guam. According to local police, he was last seen between Hotel Nikko, and Gun Beach 11:57 p.m. Friday night.

After searching for 120 hours, and over 11,000 square nautical miles, the Navy suspended the search for Holt, and declared his whereabouts unknown.

“Our deepest sympathies are with the family, friends, and shipmates of Petty Officer Holt,” Capt. Doug Graber, commanding officer of the USS Nimitz, said in a statement. “After carefully considering all pertinent factors and available information, we made the extremely difficult decision to suspend the search. This has been an extraordinarily challenging case, and the decision to suspend active efforts was not made lightly. We are sincerely grateful for the support and coordination from all units and partners who assisted in searching.”

The statement given to ABC4.com detailed that several crews of planes, helicopters, ships and local fire and search and rescue authorizes were used in the search. After no success in locating Holt, the search was suspended in the early hours of April 25 local time.

“Suspending the search for Petty Officer Holt is heartbreaking—we committed every resource in hopes of bringing him home, and our hearts are with those who knew and served alongside him,” Graber said.