A combat photographer from suburban Aurora was one of six U.S. Marines found dead following a helicopter crash in Nepal that was on a relief mission to the earthquake-hit South Asian country.
Cpl. Sara A. Medina one of the Marines identified Sunday. Medina was a combat photographer with the Marine Corps Installations Pacific command based in Okinawa, Japan.
Medina's family told NBC Chicago she was also a 2010 graduate of East Aurora High School. She was born in Durango, Mexico, but her family moved to Aurora when she was a young girl. Medina has one older brother, who said his sister would likely be buried in Mexico, where most of their family lives, after having a small funeral in Aurora.
At 23 years old, Medina was engaged to be married in August, her mother said. The mission to Nepal was supposed to be her last, and she planned to return to Aurora to settle after finishing things up in Japan.
The helicopter Medina was riding in went missing Tuesday while delivering rice and tarps in Charikot, the area hit hardest by that day's earthquake. Contact was lost after the helicopter dropped off supplies at the first site and was headed to the second location.
The wreckage of the UH-1 "Huey" was found Friday following days of intense searching in the mountains northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal's capital. The first three bodies were found Friday, and the rest were found Saturday.
"Cpl. Sara Medina made the ultimate sacrifice while assisting the people of Nepal during their time of crisis, and her death is a loss for the State of Illinois and the nation," Gov. Bruce Rauner said in a statement. "Cpl. Medina's courage and dedication to serving and protecting others makes her a role model for all of us. She will never be forgotten."
Local
The other five U.S. Marines were identified as Capt. Dustin R. Lukasiewicz from Nebraska, Capt. Christopher L. Norgren from Kansas, Sgt. Ward M. Johnson IV from Florida, Sgt. Eric M. Seaman from California and Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Hug from Arizona.
In addition to the six U.S. Marines, two Nepalese soldiers were also in the helicopter. They have been identified as Tapendra Rawal and Basanta Titara.
