Silverdale, Wash. –
The evening of Monday, March 31, was just a regular weekday night for Machinist’s Mate (Submarines Auxiliary) 1st Class Lydia Cleary, who is part of Repair Department attached to Trident Refit Facility, Bangor (TRFB) in Silverdale, Wash.
Cleary played video games and got ready to turn in for the evening when she saw a post that had been shared on her social media page. A child had gone missing in nearby Belfair, Wash.
At that moment, Cleary decided to aid the parents of the missing child, but, according to Cleary, she knew odds would be better with more help. She called Machinist’s Mate (Submarines Auxiliary) 1st Class Jacob Baughman.
“This was an unfortunate situation, so it made sense to immediately go out there despite the time,” said Cleary. “I ended up contacting Baughman for help because I saw he was online and knew he was from Washington, so I thought he might know Belfair.
The two TRFB Sailors contacted the family directly and offered assistance. While on the way they contacted Machinist’s Mate (Submarines Auxiliary) 2nd Class Alec Chambless who lived nearby.
“We contacted Chambless because we're all a tight knit friend group here at TRFB and knew he would come out to help if he was awake,” said Cleary. “Thankfully he was awake and brought his girlfriend to help search.”
By the time the clock struck 9:45 p.m., all three Sailors had gathered at North Mason High School in Belfair, where the child had last been seen, to begin the search.
Though the search began by covering the entirety of the school grounds, by the time they had completed that, all three Sailors decided to expand their search perimeter. After the school grounds, they searched more than 2.5 miles of train tracks expanding out from the initial search area.
“I felt like we could actually help even if it was holding hands going through a forest,” said Baughman. “We were in contact with the father who told us they had not checked the railroad tracks nearby.”
“My reaction was urgency, I don't take those kinds of situations lightly,” said Chambless. “Timeliness is so important in these situations, every minute counts.”
By 11:06 p.m., though frustrated that the search had net yet wielded results according to Chambless, the Sailors acted on a sighting tip and departed for the nearby town of Burley, Wash.
“We had a lead from the family that he was supposedly spotted near Horseshoe Lake in Burley,” said Baughman. “The family was there but hadn't covered all areas yet around the lake yet.”
The search continued until 1:30 a.m. on April 1, when the child had been located.
“A staff member from the school who knew the young man found him. Cleary informed me when she got the call,” said Chambless.
Despite searching into the late, then early, hours of the night, all three TRFB Sailors reported for duty at their normal time on April 1.
“I think the community coming together was extremely important,” said Cleary. “All of us were very grateful that the child was found safe, it was a happy ending to an unfortunate situation.”