Chicago Sailor Missing After Boat Capsizes in Washington

A woman on the boat with Keiyia Jones made it safely to shore, but Jones remains missing

A sailor from Chicago remains missing after his boat capsized in a harbor near a naval air station in Washington on Aug. 8.

Keiyia Jones, 33, and a woman were on a boat in Crescent Harbor Bay off Whidbey Island when their boat began taking on water and sinking, according to Jones' mother, Shawan Jones. The two began to swim back to shore, but only the woman made it safely.

Neither Jones nor the woman, who are both active-duty members of the Navy, were wearing life jackets, according to the Whidbey News-Times.

The U.S. Coast Guard searched for Jones for six to 10 hours following the accident, but then they called off the search. Shawan Jones said the boating trip was not part of a military exercise, so the family continues the search alone.

Jones has been in the U.S. Navy for 10 years and has done three tours of duty, his mother said.

Shawan Jones has contacted congressmen and traveled to the island with her husband and another son and daughter, but their search has not yielded any results.

The Island County sheriff's department is investigating the incident.

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