Officials: Body of missing US airman found in Italian river

MILAN, Italy -- Italian Carabinieri say the body of a U.S. airman has been found in a river in the northern Italian town where he went missing 10 days ago.

A Carabinieri official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to give the information, said the body of Staff Sgt. Halex Hale was identified Tuesday by his father and colleagues from the Aviano Air Base. The body was spotted earlier Tuesday by a passerby, who notified authorities.

The 24-year-old from Middletown, Indiana, who was assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base north of Venice, went missing on July 2 after leaving a friend's cookout off base to walk to another friend's home about 15 minutes away.