More than a year after his disappearance, the death of Lt. Steven D. Hopkins remains a mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief engineer never showed up for his watch training on the bridge of the destroyer Stethem<\/a> shortly after midnight on Aug. 1, 2017, as the warship sailed the South China Sea during exercises with Japanese forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several shipmates would report seeing him in various parts of the vessel between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., and a search began that morning when the 30-year-old father of two failed to show up for a meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One sailor was \u201c80 percent certain\u201d it was Hopkins seen topside at about 6:20 a.m. that morning, according to a copy of the military\u2019s investigation into his disappearance following a Freedom of Information Act request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The day before, Hopkins was seen taking a 35-pound kettlebell and a yoga mat from a ship gym.<\/p>\n\n\n\t