An active-duty U.S. Marine has been missing for more than a week after he was arrested for public intoxication in San Diego and later failed to report for duty.
More alarmingly for the family of Marine Cpl. Charles Alex Benfield, his phone has been dead for more than a week, and his bank account has also been emptied out.
KUSI-TV reported the Marine was last seen on Sunday, April 14 after he was discharged from a San Diego substance abuse recovery center following an arrest by city police.
HAVE YOU SEEN HIM? Camp Pendleton confirms Marine missing, did not report for duty https://t.co/qDXsDHrp8o
— FOX 5 San Diego (@fox5sandiego) April 19, 2024
Benfield is stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County and ventured into the city on the night of April 13 for some recreational time.
According to KUSI, the Marine ended up at the McAlister Institute Recovery and Bridge Center after his run-in with officers. While there, he reportedly expressed to staffers the arrest would affect his military career, a member of his family said.
“He was saying how he was scared, he was going to lose his rank because they had to meet that following morning at 8 a.m., which he had obviously missed,” Benfield’s sister, Sarah Lazo, told the San Diego Fox affiliate.
Speaking to KUSI, Lazo added, “He said he needed to find his phone, so he was going to go search for that.”
Did you serve in the military?
It is unclear if Benfield found the phone but it was last pinged at the San Diego Police Department.
The Marine has not been seen since, but someone used his debit card to drain funds from his bank account, Lazo said.
“We were able to find out that his bank has been cleared out. There was no money left in it,” she said. “There were several big amounts of money taken out at different ATMs.”
She also said her entire family is worried by the fact Benfield has remained out of contact with those who know him best — something she said was uncharacteristic of him.
“We’re all worried,” Lazo said. “This isn’t normal behavior for Alex, just to leave and not to have any contact with anyone, especially my mom.”
A representative for the Marines issued a statement about the Marine’s disappearance and said no one at Camp Pendleton had heard from him since he found himself in legal trouble.
“Cpl. Charles Benfield, a field artillery cannoneer assigned to Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, did not report for duty the morning of April 15 following weekend liberty in the San Diego area. The 15th MEU is aware that Cpl. Benfield was detained by San Diego police April 14 and released later that day.” the representative said.
The Marines representative added, “Once 15th MEU was made aware of his release, marines from Cpl. Benfield’s unit searched the downtown San Diego area to [try to] locate him.”
Benfield was not located.
The USMC representative concluded: “The safety and accountability of our Marines and sailors is a top priority. The 15th MEU has requested the assistance of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and will continue to attempt to locate Cpl. Benfield to ensure his well-being.”
Investigators with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, commonly referred to as NCIS, are searching for the missing Marine.
The Navy Department law enforcement agency is asking the public for help, but its involvement prevents Benfield’s family from declaring him as missing with authorities in San Diego.
The family is still doing its best to get the word out about the missing Marine on social media and is asking people to keep an eye out for him online from North Carolina, where Benfield is from.
“I can understand him being scared to show up after missing a meet, but to completely fall off the face of the earth basically is unlike him at all,” Lazo told KUSI.
The concerned sister also explained that she did not believe her brother would ever abandon his post.
According to Lazo, Benfield loves serving his country, and he re-enlisted to serve four more years with the branch just a few months ago.
The family has been placing calls to hospitals and hotels searching for him, but no one has seen him.
As of Monday morning, Benfield had yet to be located.
