The airman’s father, Lance Hale, and an uncle arrived in Italy on Friday as the search being conducted by U.S. Air Force personnel, local law enforcement officers and volunteers continued.
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“We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss of life”, said Brig.
Hale, a 24-year-old from Middletown, Indiana, is assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base north of Venice, and was last seen July 2 at a friend’s cookout in Sacile, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) off base.
The body of an American airman missing in northern Italy for nearly 10 days has been found, officials said. He was wearing only a swimsuit, according to reports, and had left his cell phone, credit cards and auto at the cookout at a friend’s house where he’d spent the evening. The cause of death is under investigation. An autopsy will be performed Wednesday, they said.
However, Hale’s father previously rejected Michele’s theory, stating that “one can’t just slip into the water – you really have to climb into something and jump into it, even if the canal was swollen, as they say”.
He had been at Aviano since February 2015, his mother, Amy Hale, told The Star Press of Muncie, Ind.
Her husband, Lance Hale, traveled to Italy on Friday as the search for their son continues.
Halex Hale has been in the Air Force for six years and “absolutely loves it”, his mother said. He served in Afghanistan for four years before being stationed in Italy.
A prayer vigil was held at the Middletown Church of the Nazarene on Thursday evening.
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The body was found in an area searched for five days with the aid of divers and dogs, but the official said it was likely that the body had gotten caught in vegetation below the surface and had been freed more recently by the current.
