Navy Corpsman Huo one of two people found dead Sunday
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Yu Wei Huo, the 33-year-old man based at Parris Island who had been missing since Aug. 27, has been identified as one of two people found dead in northern Beaufort County waterways Sunday.
The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office identified Huo on Tuesday, Sept. 1, as the person whose body was recovered along the Broad River shore at approximately 12:15 p.m. Aug. 30.
Huo was a Naval Hospital Corpsman assigned to Headquarters and Service Battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, according to a release from the base. His Navy Enlisted Classification was L33A, dental assistant.
Huo, whose home of record was Flushing, N.Y, had received two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and a Good Conduct Medal. He was single and had no dependents.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, is investigating Huo’s death, according to the Coroner’s Office. His cause of death is pending an autopsy.
MCRD Parris Island officials said the circumstances surrounding Huo’s death remain under investigation and that it would be premature to speculate about the circumstances or outcome of the investigation.
“The Marine Corps extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and fellow service members affected by this loss,” the release said.
Huo had last been seen at approximately 3:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 27 in the area of the Broad River Bridge. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and other responding agencies had been searching for him in the days before his body was found.
His body was one of two recovered from waterways in northern Beaufort County on Sunday.
“We actually had two different people located today deceased in waterways,” Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Danny Allen told The Island News on Sunday. “But two separate cases not believed to be connected.”
The first body was reported at approximately 9:45 a.m. Sunday in Chowan Creek. Deputies responded to the area and recovered the body.
Less than three hours later, at approximately 12:15 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received a report of a body in the Broad River. That person was later identified as Huo.
A woman who witnessed the Broad River recovery contacted The Island News at 1:55 p.m. Sunday and said the body was recovered from the water near Laurel Bay military housing. A map she provided showed the location along the Broad River behind the recreation center.
The woman, whom The Island News is not naming, said she watched the recovery from a distance and saw personnel from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Beaufort County Coroner’s Office and military police at the scene. She also provided video from the area and a photograph showing a Coroner’s Office vehicle leaving the scene.
Multiple agencies participated in the search for Huo after he disappeared. Search efforts included the Broad River, where Beaufort Water Search and Rescue deployed boats and used side-scan sonar to search the river bottom.
The search began Aug. 28 but was suspended that afternoon when storms moved into the area. It resumed the following morning.
Second person awaiting identification
The person recovered from Chowan Creek has not yet been positively identified.
The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday that DNA testing is being used to confirm the second person’s identity. Confirmation could come as early as the end of this week but could take until next week.
The Coroner’s Office said the name will be released after the identification has been confirmed.
The Sheriff’s Office previously said the two deaths were not believed to be connected to each other. The cause of death for the person recovered from Chowan Creek is also pending autopsy results.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.