A missing Hawaii-based corpsman voluntarily returned to his unit on Sunday with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, at the Marine base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, according to Marine Corps officials.

The Corps had filed a missing persons report for Seaman Shaun Palmer after the corpsman failed to report for duty on July 1. The following day, the Corps marked Palmer as an unauthorized absence.

The young sailor is safe, but could be facing punitive measures for his absence.

“Actions taken as a result of Seaman Palmer's absence are administrative in nature and therefore an internal matter.” Capt. Eric Abrams, a Marine spokesman, told Marine Corps Times in an emailed statement. “In general, command leadership looks at these types of situations on a case-by-case basis with so many different variables.”


Palmer was last seen on July 1 in Waikiki, Hawaii, before being reported missing, and he was with a Marine who was arrested for an altercation, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. His family had created a GoFundMe page a few days after he went missing: “We have not heard from Shaun and his credit card has not been used. It is unlike Shaun to not be in touch with his family.” The family later reported that Palmer had reached out to them.

Abrams said, “The focus right now is that we are thankful that he is safe and back with his unit.”

Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.

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