Va. flier’s family not giving up hope

The parents of a missing Coast Guard aviator from Virginia aren't giving up hope that their son survived a collision with a Marine Corps helicopter.

Adam Bryant, 28, of Crewe is among the nine people missing at sea after Thursday's crash off the Southern California coast, the Coast Guard said. Bryant was co-pilot of the Coast Guard C-130.

His mother, Nina Bryant, said yesterday that she's "hoping and praying" the service members will be found alive.

"You never know. Miracles happen," she said. "They're not saying much, so I'm just staying positive until they say otherwise."

Bryant describes her son as smart and athletic -- a former basketball and baseball player and honor society member at the private Kenston Forest School in Blackstone. She says he decided to make the Coast Guard his career after graduating from its academy and completing his mandatory enlistment.

Adam Bryant's father, Jerry Bryant of Nottoway County, said, "We've been kept up to date. The Coast Guard's been good about keeping the families updated, and we're still hoping. It's getting late, but we're still hoping. We're not giving up, but it's not looking good."

In addition to Bryant, officials identified the C-130 crew members as:

Lt. Cmdr. Che J. Barnes, 35, Capay, Calif., aircraft commander; Chief Petty Officer John F. Seidman, 43, Carmichael, Calif., flight engineer; Petty Officer 2nd Class Carl P. Grigonis, 35, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, navigator; Petty Officer 2nd Class Monica L. Beacham, 29, Decaturville, Tenn., radio operator; Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason S. Moletzsky, 26, Norristown, Pa., air crew; Petty Officer 3rd Class Danny R. Kreder II, 22, Elm Mott, Texas, drop master.

The missing crew members from the Marine Corps helicopter are Maj. Samuel Leigh, 35, Belgrade, Maine; and 1st Lt. Thomas Claiborne, 26, Parker, Colo.

The Coast Guard plane that crashed was itself carrying out a search for a missing boatman, David Jines, 50. Jines left Avalon Harbor on Santa Catalina Island on Tuesday aboard a 12-foot motorized skiff. A friend reported Jines missing the next day.

Six Coast Guard cutters, three Navy ships and multiple helicopters were searching 644 square miles of ocean, but rescuers were concentrating on a debris field 50 miles off the San Diego coast. Rescuers have found debris from both aircraft, but there was no sign of the crew members or their bodies.

The mission was still considered search and rescue, not search and recovery, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Jetta Disco said yesterday.
Staff writer Reed Williams contributed to this report.