A GoFundMe has been set up for the family of a sailor believed to have fallen overboard from a Canadian navy ship on Monday.
A thorough search for Master Sailor Duane Earle, 47, of Winnipeg, Man. turned up nothing, and multi-jurisdictional efforts were called off Tuesday evening. Earle is believed to have fallen overboard from the HMCS Winnipeg in the early hours of Dec. 14 while the ship was 500 nautical miles west of San Francisco, Calif.
The vessel was returning to Esquimalt after a two-month deployment for Operation PROJECTION and NEON, training and engagement operations in the Asia-Pacific region.
READ ALSO: Navy at a loss at how missing sailor could go overboard from HMCS Winnipeg
The fundraiser, launched by fellow Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members Lieut. Andrew MacGillivray and CPO1 Jean-Francois Bouillon, says Earle “always maintained a positive attitude, even in the toughest conditions.”
The pair write that they sailed with Earle for two years aboard the HMCS Vancouver while he was a member of the deck department. Money raised will support Earle’s family, which includes two children, a step daughter and partner. As of Thursday, roughly $5,000 has been raised.
“He was a valuable member of HMCS Winnipeg, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Armed Forces and our great country,” MacGillivray and Bouillon write. “Duane, you will be missed. Fair Winds and Following Seas.”
HMCS Winnipeg is set to return to Esquimalt on Friday, Dec. 18.
The ship, along with an embarked CH-148 Cyclone helicopter and air detachment left Greater Victoria on Aug. 1 for Exercise Rim of the Pacific off the coast of Hawaii folllowed by Operations Projection and Neon in the Asia-Pacific region.
The ship is expected to pass Duntze Head around 3:15 p.m.
To donate, visit gofundme.ca.
READ ALSO: Search continues for ‘sailor’s sailor’ presumed overboard from navy vessel returning to Esquimalt
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