Arlington Marine Was Not On Missing Helicopter
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - A Marine from Arlington who was feared missing in Nepal is safe, according to his brother. Sgt. James Hibler was believed to be among the crew of a U.S. military helicopter that disappeared in Nepal on Tuesday.
A total of six people were believed to have been on board the chopper when radio transmissions indicated that the craft was having some type of fuel problem, according to a Pentagon spokesman. Crews have been searching for the missing helicopter, which may have been spotted on Wednesday morning, but that information has not been confirmed.
Jonathan Hibler is the Marine's brother, and had not heard from him when news about the missing helicopter was first reported. Jonathan later confirmed that he received a text from James at around 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday. The Marine is safe and was not on board the helicopter that went missing.
"I heard my phone beep. I had been sleeping light all night," Jonathan said. "So, I can have some sort of relief."
Two helicopter from the same squadron were sent Wednesday morning to conduct an aerial serach for the missing U.S. aircraft. The text from Hibler indicated that he might be a part of that search and rescue effort.
The crew was in Nepal to help with earthquake disaster relief efforts. A 7.8-magnitude quake struck the nation back on April 25.
Sgt. James Hibler graduated from Martin High School in Arlington and the University of North Texas in Denton with a degree in criminal justice. According to a Department of Defense article, Hibler did not want a normal job, so he joined the Marines instead.
