A U.S. Navy officer lost in the Arabian Sea after an emergency helicopter landing has been identified as an Oregon man.
Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, from Oakland, Oregon, has been missing since July 1 and is now presumed dead after search efforts were suspended on July 5, according to the Navy.
The search, which involved multiple ships and aircrafts, lasted more than four days and covered some 14,000 square miles, the Navy said in a statement.
The cause of the emergency landing remains under investigation, but there is no indication it was caused by hostile action, the Navy said.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden put out a statement on social media on Tuesday offering condolences to Edwards’ family.
“I know I join with many here in Oregon and all over America honoring Navy Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards’ service to our country, and thinking of his wife and two children,” Wyden said in the statement. “This Oregon hero will not be forgotten.”
Edwards served as the commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 since July 2025 and was deployed in the Middle East on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.
The Oregon commander earned his wings as a helicopter pilot in 2008 and became highly decorated during his time in the Navy. Edwards has received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and multiple other unit and campaign awards, according to the Navy.
Edwards was up for a promotion to captain in the coming fiscal year. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced on social media on Tuesday that, “in recognition of his extraordinary service and sacrifice,” Edwards will be posthumously promoted to captain.
Edwards’ wife, Rebecca Edwards, told the Navy her husband was the love of her life and that she will remember him as “an extraordinary father to his children.”
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