Sailor found dead on San Diego aircraft carrier was 22-year-old Oklahoman

The sailor found dead on the San Diego-based aircraft carrier Carl Vinson Sunday was a 22-year-old petty officer from Oklahoma, the Navy said in a statement Monday.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Darren Collins was found unresponsive on board the ship at its homeport berth at Naval Air Station North Island early Sunday. He was pronounced dead at 6:23 a.m., the Navy said.

Collins’ death is under investigation. The Navy said there are no indications of foul play or that the sailor died by suicide.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Darren Collins was found dead on board the San Diego-based aircraft carrier Carl Vinson Sunday. Navy officials do not suspect foul play or suicide.

(Courtesy of U.S. Navy)

Capt. P. Scott Miller, the commanding officer of the Vinson, said Collins was a “talented young man.”

“My deepest condolences go out to the Collins family in this time of tragic loss,” Miller said in a statement. “As shipmates we grieve the untimely passing of a talented young man. We will continue to provide support to the Vinson crew and the Collins family.”

Collins joined the Navy in 2019 and reported to the ship in October 2020, the Navy said.

A Carl Vinson spokesperson, reached by email Monday, declined to say where on the ship Collins was found, whether he lived on board or was working over the weekend, citing the ongoing investigation.