Officials will continue to search through the night and into the day for missing soldier Calyn McLemore who did not return from a navigation assignment at Camp Blanding on Wednesday.
Each minute that goes by is another critical minute lost, according to the Clay County Sheriff's Office in a press conference held Friday. Officers believe it to be a good sign that a canteen has not been recovered, suggesting that McLemore still has it with him.
Authorities hope to find McLemore as quickly as possible and have recruited new personnel to continue searching into the night. Those working the daytime search will rest and start back up in the morning.
There has yet to be any contact with the soldier. The next update will be announced tomorrow at 4 p.m. unless there are any new developments.
According to a spokesperson for the Clay County Sheriff's Office, Sergeant Smith, McLemore was supposed to meet at a rallying point at 11 a.m. on Wednesday after successfully finding it during a navigation assignment. He is with the Alabama Reserves and is at Camp Blanding for training.
The assignment's purpose is to give soldier's equipment and maps to find their way to certain points in the near 1000-acre area of woods surrounding Camp Blanding.
Smith said that Camp Blanding has experienced soldiers who have gotten off course before, however, usually, they are located within 30 minutes to an hour. It is uncommon got someone to be missing for so long.
There are members from the Clay County Sheriff's Office, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, and Customs searching for McLemore by ATV, officers on horseback, K-9s and air units. Some os his equipment has been found, but McLemore is still missing.
“Hopefully this will come to a positive resolution," said the Sergeant.
They do not believe this soldier is AWOL. During the search, it has become apparent that the heat and rough terrain may have caused this soldier to go far off course. Smith explained swamp land with waters and marsh chest deep.
“[He was a] squared away soldier, hard charger, just wanted to go out there and complete the course and probably pushed it to the limit in this extreme heat.”
Smith said there is no reason to believe that this is suspicious in any way. Officials are concerned about the heat and wildlife in the area as they have come across water moccasins and other wildlife that could be dangerous during their search.
“We’re here for the long haul and we’re going to just remain positive.”