MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota native is among 12 Marines missing after two helicopters crashed off Hawaii.

Twenty-four-year-old Sgt. Dillon Semolina graduated from Delano High School, where he played football.

His uncle, Ryan Bachand, tells The Associated Press that Semolina wanted to be a registered nurse when he left the Marines. Bachand says his nephew was waiting to hear from a school he had applied to.

Bachand describes Semolina as a respectful and positive young man. He says the family still holds out hope that Semolina and the others missing will be found alive. High waves have complicated the search.

A GoFundMe page to raise money to send Semolina's parents to Hawaii to be near where Semolina went missing had raised more than $10,000 from 237 people by Sunday morning.

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