The body recovered on Saturday from the water just off Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe has been identified as a 29-year-old Navy sailor from Kentucky.

Navy officials identified him yesterday as Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Lawrence Mudd, an electrician's mate aboard the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Olympia.

Mudd's body was found Saturday in the water about 65 feet from Pyramid Rock Beach.

First responders from the base had been alerted to flares sighted in the air near the beach at 6:20 p.m. Friday. Mudd was spotted in distress on a life raft, Navy officials said.

Marine and Honolulu Fire Department rescuers responded, but poor visibility and high surf prevented them from reaching Mudd before losing sight of him, officials said.

Rescuers, with the help of the Coast Guard, continue to search for him overnight, but his body was found by Marine lifeguards later Saturday. No wreckage of a boat has been located, officials said.

Mudd, of Fort Mitchell, Ky., joined the Navy in June 1998 and was assigned to the USS Olympia on May 30, 2007. He had also served at the Trident Training Facility in Kings Bay, Ga., and aboard the USS Nebraska.

The Olympia crew will hold a memorial service for Mudd this week at the Submarine Memorial Chapel at Pearl Harbor.