A United States Marine who was reported missing after he failed to report for duty and his bank account was reportedly emptied has been located, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) said Wednesday.
Marine Corporal Charles Alex Benfield was reported missing from Southern California’s Camp Pendleton last week. Prior to his disappearance, Benfield was detained in downtown San Diego for public intoxication and was later released on Sunday, April 14, from the McAlister Institute Recovery and Bridge Center.
Sarah Lazo, Benfield’s sister, told Nexstar’s KSWB/KUSI that front desk workers at the center relayed to authorities their last encounter with the Marine.
“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,” she said. “He said he needed to find his phone, so he was going to go search for that.”
Shortly after, a communications director for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which Benfield belongs to, made a statement announcing Benfield “did not report for duty the morning of April 15 following weekend liberty in the San Diego area.”
The Marine Corps requested the assistance of NCIS, which confirmed Wednesday that Benfield was successfully contacted by law enforcement on Saturday, April 20. A spokesperson said Benfield “was reported to be safe and is no longer considered a missing person.”
Benfield loved his job, according to his family, and just reenlisted for four more years with the Marines this past fall. Lazo said they were also able to determine that his bank had “been cleared out.”
“There was no money left in it. There were several big amounts of money taken out at different ATMs,” Lazo said.
No further details were provided. KSWB/KUSI has reached out to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton for comment on the matter.
