A US Marine, Cpl. Charles Benfield, has been missing for over a week after being arrested for public intoxication in San Diego.
He was last seen being discharged from a recovery center and said he was worried about his military career being affected.
“He was saying how he was scared, he was going to lose his rank because they had to meet that following morning at 8 a.m., which he had obviously missed,” Benfield’s sister Sarah Lazo said.
Lazo added, “He said he needed to find his phone, so he was going to go search for that.”
“We were able to find out that his bank has been cleared out. There was no money left in it,” she said. “There were several big amounts of money taken out at different ATMs.”
His phone and bank account have since been emptied. His family, who says this behavior is out of character, is concerned for his welfare as he has had no contact with them.
The Marines and NCIS are assisting in the search.
Benfield’s sister expressed doubt he would abandon his post, as he had recently re-enlisted, and the family is seeking any information on his whereabouts from the public.
“We’re all worried,” Lazo said. “This isn’t normal behavior for Alex, just to leave and not to have any contact with anyone, especially my mom.”
“Cpl. Charles Benfield, a field artillery cannoneer assigned to Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, did not report for duty the morning of April 15 following weekend liberty in the San Diego area. The 15th MEU is aware that Cpl. Benfield was detained by San Diego police April 14 and released later that day.” the representative said.
“I can understand him being scared to show up after missing a meet, but to completely fall off the face of the earth basically is unlike him at all,” Lazo said.
