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Minnesota News
Hannah Yang

Body of missing Minnesota Marine found off coast of Okinawa

A Marine poses with his arms across his chest.
Lance Cpl. Eric John Niss-de Jesus’ body was found Wednesday, according to an update from a GoFundMe website set up by the family.
Courtesy of Sandie Dolan

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The body of a Marine from Minnesota who went missing Sunday while swimming off the coast of Okinawa has been found.

Lance Cpl. Eric John Niss-de Jesus’ body was found Wednesday, according to an update on the GoFundMe page set up to support his family. The Mountain Lake High School graduate was swimming with three other Marines when the group was caught in a rip current on Sunday. The three other Marines made it back to shore safely, but Niss-de Jesus wasn’t among them.

“It is with heavy hearts that we received news today confirming that they have found our boy,” the Marine’s family said in an update on the GoFundMe page. “It is not the outcome that we wanted so badly, but we are still rejoicing in God for finding our Eric and that he is coming home.”

Niss-de Jesus graduated from Mountain Lake High School in 2015 and was a 2019 graduate of the University of Minnesota. He enlisted with the Marines before graduating from the U of M and had been stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

According to Facebook updates, Niss-de Jesus’ body is scheduled to arrive in Oahu, Hawaii on Saturday morning, and the family is making arrangements to bring him home to Minnesota within the next week. The family is looking to escort Niss-de Jesus from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport back to Mountain Lake in southern Minnesota.

Cottonwood County residents are also rallying together to set up a tribute event that will welcome the fallen Marine home. Details are still preliminary, but organizers are hoping to line Highway 169 and Highway 60, as well as work with local veterans service offices, as well as American Legion and VFW posts.

“Eric John is truly a wonderful young man that always puts everyone else’s needs in front of his own,” said Kay Gohr, Cottonwood County legal secretary, in a Facebook post. “His constant smile was always the first thing I noticed when I would see him. I was blessed to know him personally.”