Cpl. Samuel Wanjiru is a reserve Marine assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 472, Marine Aircraft Group 49, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing. (U.S. Marine Corps)
(Tribune News Service) — A GoFundMe set up to help the family of a United States Marine who went missing in Puerto Rico continues to get closer to its goal of $10,000.
Samuel Wanjiru, 26, of Worcester, Mass., went missing on the afternoon of March 27 after going into the water in the beach area of La Pared in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. Wanjiru was a reserve Marine assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 472, Marine Aircraft Group 49, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, in Chicopee, the 4th Wing previously confirmed in a statement. At the time of his disappearance, he was not in an active-duty status or conducting military operations.
The fundraiser, set up on Monday, received 72 donations as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, receiving a total of $6,360.
Wanjiru’s partner Natasha Castillo-Vargas is the GoFundMe’s beneficiary. Also a Worcester resident, Castillo said she and Wanjiru have been together for five years.
“Samuel’s mother and I are trying to get as much resources and help as we can because we will not give up hope in finding our Samuel,” Castillo-Vargas wrote in the fundraiser’s description. “Please, anything anyone can help with would be most appreciated. This would help with stay expenses in [Puerto Rico,] transportation expenses, bill expenses, and food expenses. We ask that people send prayers and love during this devastating and heart-aching time. We are firm believers in God as Samuel is too and we have faith that he will be found. Thank you for your support!”
On the afternoon of March 27, he entered the water at a nearby beach and “came into distress,” the Coast Guard said previously. Helicopters and other aircraft were sent to search for Wanjiru that same day, but search efforts last week and throughout the weekend came up empty.
The Coast Guard suspended search efforts to locate Wanjiru on Sunday, it said in a press release. The initiative concluded after Coast Guard air and surface units had completed 14 air searches and one surface search that together covered 264 square nautical miles of ocean.
“We keep Cpl. Samuel Wanjiru and his family in our prayers, hoping they find strength and closure during this most difficult time,” Coast Guard Capt. Jose Diaz said in the release.
During the month of March, the Coast Guard’s San Juan sector coordinated 10 search and rescue efforts, saving 12 people and losing six others to drownings, it said.
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