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The U.S. military says a Marine who went missing during a training exercise off the coast of southern California last week was from Minnesota.

Officials with I Marine Expeditionary Force on Monday identified the missing Marine as 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Armando Ortiz Canseco. 

 that Ortiz Canseco’s family held a vigil for him on Sunday in Richfield.

Ortiz Canseco was reported missing on Thursday morning from the amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage. The search covered about 2,400 square miles and involved three surface ships and 12 aircraft from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force, officials said.

Ortiz Canseco was declared dead on Saturday; search and recovery operations continue. 

Authorities have not released further details about the circumstances of his disappearance. The incident remains under investigation.

“On behalf of the Marines and sailors of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Lance Cpl. Ortiz Canseco,” Col. Richard Alvarez, commanding officer of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said in a statement. “He earned the title of United States Marine and served his country with honor and commitment. We mourn alongside his family, and we remain committed to bringing him home.”

Ortiz Canseco enlisted in the Marine Corps in April 2023, and received the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. He was most recently temporarily assigned aboard the USS Anchorage in preparation for a training operation.

“The loss of Lance Cpl. Ortiz Canseco is felt deeply across our entire Navy-Marine Corps team,” Capt. Gary A. Harrington, the commodore of Amphibious Squadron 7, said in a statement. “The amphibious Navy exists to fight alongside the Marine Corps, and a loss to the Marine Corps family is a loss to our own. We are a resilient force, and we continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in support of Lance Cpl. Ortiz Canseco’s loved ones and our ongoing recovery operations.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Officials with I Marine Expeditionary Force on Monday identified the missing Marine as 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Armando Ortiz Canseco.

U.S. Marine from Minnesota reported missing during training exercise off California coast

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