CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Marine lance corporal remained missing Tuesday after last seen struggling in water Monday evening in Ourawan Bay off Camp Schwab, U.S. Marine Corps and Japanese officials said.

Two Marines strolling the beach spotted the man around 9 p.m. Monday, according to Hiroshi Iwanaga, chief of the search-and-rescue division of the coast guard’s Nakagusuku branch. One Marine entered the water in an attempt to rescue the man, but lost sight of him, Iwanaga said.

A coast guard team searched the area with a patrol boat, rubber boats and a helicopter throughout the night, he said.

The U.S. military joined a ground search Monday evening. At daybreak, a U.S. rescue team aboard a rubber boat participated in the search, Iwanaga said.

All search activities, except for the patrol boat, were suspended Tuesday afternoon because of an approaching storm, Iwanaga said.

Iwanaga said that while the name of the missing Marine was not releasable, a cell phone and a pair of shoes belonging to him were found at the beach.

Marine Corps officials confirmed Tuesday that a Marine is listed as missing.

From staff reports

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