JACKSON COUNTY, FL– An Alabama military student who went missing while tubing with another group of students, has been found dead.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that the unidentified student was located Monday night during a recovery mission on Florida’s Chipola River.
The student was reported missing around 1:00 p.m. on Saturday between the areas of Spring Creek Park and Magnolia Landing.
“Deputies responded and determined an individual with a group of military students from Fort Rucker had sunk below the water’s surface and could not be located,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
While not much is known about the victim, Jackson County Sheriff Donnie Edenfield told reporters that he was “an Iraqi Colonel” who was at Fort Rucker for an international training program.
“The person who’s missing is an Iraqi Colonel in their military that was at Fort Rucker attending some flat training,” Edenfield said. “Obviously, we want to find him as quickly as possible for the family and everyone involved.”
The JCSO dive team, a Houston County dive team, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Wicksburg Fire Rescue, and the Ft. Rucker Fire Rescue all assisted in the search.