3 killed after overcrowded boat capsized off San Diego coast in apparent smuggling operation
CBSN
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday suspended its response to an overturned vessel that broke apart in choppy waters off the coast of San Diego. A total of 32 people were accounted for after a "severely overcrowded" boat overturned Sunday morning during a suspected smuggling incident, officials said.
"Yesterday, we were once again reminded how dangerous these ocean smuggling attempts can be and we will continue to work with our local, state and federal partners to prevent, detect and respond to cases like this to keep the waters of San Diego safe and secure," said Captain Timothy Barelli of the Coast Guard. Twenty-nine people survived, five of whom were hospitalized, the Coast Guard said Monday. One remains in critical condition. Three people were declared dead by the San Diego County medical examiner. The Coast Guard previously said four people had died.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.
The knock at the door came at nighttime on Mother's Day 2008 in Oregon, where Jessica Ellis' parents lived. It was around 9:20 p.m. and his wife, Linda, was already in bed; her father Steve Ellis told CBS News, that he thought someone let their animals out — but two soldiers in Class A uniforms were standing at the door.