A search is underway for a soldier missing at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center in Florida since Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cayln McLemor never returned from a land navigation exercise and is thought to be missing somewhere within base boundaries, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The soldier is a member of the Army Reserve from Alabama who was attending the Basic Leader Course at Camp Blanding\u2019s 211th Regiment Regional Training Institute, according to a statement released by the Florida National Guard<\/a> on Thursday. The release did not name the soldier, but he was identified in information from the local sheriff\u2019s office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All permanent-party personnel at Camp Blanding are involved in the search, along with a number of local, state and federal agencies, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Authorities are concerned that McLemor may have become dehydrated and disoriented during the exercise, which occurred during a time of extreme heat and heavy rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sgt. Keith Smith, public information officer for the Clay County Sheriff\u2019s Office, said search and rescue teams were encountering waist-high to chest-high swamp waters on the navigation course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a meticulous and methodical search, but we\u2019re here for the long haul and we\u2019re going to, like I said, just remain positive,\u201d Smith said in a Friday press conference streamed on the sheriff\u2019s office Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith said rescue teams were able to narrow the search area after recovering some of McLemor\u2019s equipment. Within that area, Smith said wildlife threats are also a point of concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re concerned because again, those of us that grew up in this area and have been out here and trained many times, we\u2019ve already encountered water moccasins, wildlife you know that can bite you and grab you out there,\u201d he said in the press conference. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a lot of elements out there in that area where ultimately he may have ended up just by getting off the course.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith told reporters there is no reason to believe McLemor went AWOL or is a victim of foul play. The soldier\u2019s family has been notified and is receiving updates during the search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n