Recovery efforts continue for missing airman from Dallas

DALLAS - An airman who is presumed dead in a parachute training exercise off Florida's Panhandle has been identified as a Dallas native.

The U.S. Air Force said recovery efforts are still underway for Staff Sgt. Cole Condiff, 29, who was a special tactics combat controller with 24th Special Operations Wing, part of the Air Force Special Operations Command.

On Tuesday morning, Condiff fell into the Gulf of Mexico south of Hurlburt Field, Florida while performing a static-line jump from a C-130 aircraft. A military news release described what happened as an "unplanned parachute departure."

Crews spent more than 130 hours on scene and searched more than 4,909 square-nautical miles, but were unable to find him.

Condiff grew up in Dallas and graduated from Sachse High School. After high school, he attended Utah Valley University and later served a two-year mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

He enlisted in the Air Force in 2012 and completed deployments to Africa and Afghanistan. His long list of skills included static-line jumpmaster, military free-fall jumper, combat scuba diver, air traffic controller and a joint terminal attack controller. 

Family members and colleagues described him as an adventurous man who was dedicated to his faith and family.  He is survived by his parents and siblings and leaves behind a wife and two daughters.

The Air Force is investigating what happened.

The Associated Press contributed to this report