Missing Marine Eric Hall may be evading search effort

Marine may be evading search effort
By LATISHA R. GRAY



latisha.gray@heraldtribune.com

Family and friends of an injured Iraq war veteran who has been missing since Sunday fear that the 24-year-old is covering his tracks.

Courtney Birge said that if former Marine Eric W. Hall does not want rescuers to find him, they will not.

Hall's family spent Saturday printing fliers, driving around and talking to anyone who may have seen him.

"He's a Marine," said Birge, who is married to Hall's cousin, Adam Birge. "He knows how to survive off the land and find food. We don't feel he is dead. We want him back with us."

The family is planning a search party today and is asking for help from anyone interested in helping them. The group will gather at 8 a.m. at Gilchrist Park, 400 W. Retta Esplanade, Punta Gorda.

The family is asking anyone with all-terrain vehicles, heavy-duty trucks, dogs, a helicopter or any other search aids, for help. They said people with military experience can also help with tracking and understanding a Marine's thought process.

Hall disappeared from another cousin's Deep Creek home last Sunday. He had recently stopped taking his pain medication for a serious leg injury he suffered in Fallujah, Iraq, three years ago when an explosive device nearly blew off his leg.
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