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HMCS Winnipeg is sailing home to Esquimalt after an extensive search failed to turn up any sign of a missing sailor.

Master Sailor Duane Earle, a 47-year-old boatswain, is believed to have gone overboard around 5 a.m. Pacific time Monday about 500 nautical miles west of San Francisco. His absence was not noticed for about seven and a half hours.

An area of about 2,000 square miles was searched over the course of 30 hours, said Canadian Fleet Pacific Commander Angus Topshee. The U.S. Coast Guard and California Air National Guard assisted Canadian efforts.

Topshee said the search was as thorough as possible, “but it is harder than finding a needle in a haystack.”

With the search over, the focus is on supporting Earle’s family and friends, while working to bring Winnipeg home after a “long and very demanding deployment,” he said.

With about 230 sailors and officers, HMCS Winnipeg was involved in Operations Projection and Neon in the Asia-Pacific area. The latter is part of a multinational effort to enforce maritime sanctions against North Korea.

Earle will be “sorely missed,” said Cmdr. Mike Stefanson, commanding officer of the ship. “These have been an extremely difficult couple of days for the ship’s company.”

Topshee said the ship has been deployed since the end of July and the crew has been in isolation aboard since then as a precaution against COVID-19. He said crew members had been “eagerly anticipating a triumphant return home” to reunite with family in time for the holidays.

Instead, the crew is dealing with “a horrible and completely unexpected tragedy,” he said.

“The entire Pacific fleet, the whole of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Armed Forces stand beside the family, friends and shipmates of Master Sailor Duane Earle, and we will continue to support them in the coming days.”

Details of the ship’s arrival will be announced soon. It was originally scheduled to arrive today.

It’s still not known what happened to Earle, said Topshee, adding a detailed inquiry will be conducted. “At this time we still really cannot explain how he came to be in the water.”

Topshee said the upper decks are out of bounds at night as a safety measure.

Some sailors are wondering if they missed something and could have prevented what happened, he said.

Rear-Admiral Brian Santarpia, Maritime Component Commander, said the decision to conclude the search was not taken lightly.

“Right now, our focus remains on supporting his family, his friends and shipmates as they work through this very challenging time, and I offer my deepest sympathies.”

Earle began his career in the armed forces in June 1990 as a member of the naval reserve.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement saying Earle had “selflessly answered the call of duty” for more than 30 years.

“His dedication to our country and its values represented the very best of what it means to be Canadian,” he said.

jwbell@timescolonist.com