Search stopped for soldier who fell overboard near N.C.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search today for a U.S. Army soldier who fell overboard Sunday morning off the North Carolina coast.

Coast Guard and Marine Corps search crews were helping to search for a crewmember of the Army tugboat Major General Winfield Scott, which is homeported at Fort Eustis, according to a Coast Guard news release.

The crewmember was last seen on the bridge of the vessel while it was about 15 miles off Drum Inlet, south of Ocracoke Inlet. The crew searched the ship before declaring a man overboard and calling the Coast Guard for help at 11:20 a.m. Sunday, the news release said.

Assisting in the search was a Pedro helicopter rescue crew from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and Coast Guard rescue crews from Elizabeth City, Fort Macon and Hatteras Inlet.

The crews searched more than 1,572 square nautical miles during the 40-hour search for the soldier. The search area, the Coast Guard news release said, was larger than the state of Rhode Island.

The missing crewmember was not identified while officials notify next of kin.

The tugboat, which typically has a 24-member crew, was headed south to South Carolina to participate in a U.S. Navy training mission, said Karla Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Fort Eustis.