Vice Admiral Scott Stearney, 58, was found dead in his Bahrain residence, according to a US Navy statement on Saturday

The mystery surrounding a decorated Navy admiral's apparent suicide death in Bahrain over the weekend has deepened as key details about how he apparently took his own life remain unknown.

Vice Admiral Scott Stearney, 58, was found dead in his residence in Bahrain on Saturday but it is not yet known who found him, when his body was found or what the circumstances behind the discovery were.

All that the Navy will say is that there is no foul play suspected but that its Criminal Investigative Service is probing his death alongside Bahrain's Ministry of Interior.

A spokesman for the Navy's Criminal Investigative Service told DailyMail.com on Monday: 'This investigation is ongoing so we cannot provide any comment at this time.

'There is no set timeline for how long such investigations take to complete.'

Vice Admiral Stearney had an illustrious 36-year career in the Navy before taking control of the US Fifth Fleet, which controls the Navy's presence in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, in May this year.

The Fifth Fleet's position is one of the most crucial in the Navy's infrastructure.

It is planted in the middle of several of the US's most unpredictable allies and adversaries; Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and Kuwait.

On September 9, Admiral Stearney spoke optimistically about the Navy's presence and operations in a conference call with members of the Arab media where he admonished Iran for its destabilizing tactics and vowed to use his fleet to keep peace in the region.

He spoke at length about four exercises the Fifth Fleet was engaging in which were all designed to 'show the Navy and our partners are capable of operating and protecting critical choke points and waterways throughout the region.'

He described them as counter-mine capability exercises 'which means we remove the mine threat from the waters.'

Explaining the tactic, he said: 'It’s a defensive methodology to ensure that we’re able to maintain the free flow of commerce through these choke points.'

Admiral Stearney (left with his wife Shelly) was optimistic about the Fifth Fleet's position in the Middle East and spoke openly about his plans with members of the Arab media in September this year during a conference call. He is shown right in July

When asked about Iran's recent actions which Defence Secretary James Mattis recently described as 'ongoing mischief', he said: 'Iran’s activities across the region are not helpful and they’re promoting instability in a way that is affecting the region significantly.'

He was most critical of its support of the Houthi movement, a group of armed, pro-Islamists who are currently locked in a civil war in Yemen.

'Iran’s activities across the region are not helpful and they’re promoting instability in a way that is affecting the region significantly Admiral Scott Stearney on a September 9 phone call with Arab journalists

There were also several questions about what the US's response would be should Iran close off the Strait of Hormuz, a key stretch of water which sits between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman which much of the world's oil is transported through.

It is the only point of access to the wider ocean for Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Stearney would not answer when asked if the US would wage war on Iran if it shut it down, saying instead: 'I don’t think we should talk about hypotheticals... the U.S. and our partners provide and promote security and stability in the region.

'Together that we stand ready to ensure the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce where international law allows.

The Fifth Fleet's position is one of the most crucial in the Navy's infrastructure. Its HQ is in Bahrain but the fleet operates in the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden

'We are postured to defend and protect, not to cause international crises and provocation and escalation.

'We are here for the stability and the security of this region and for nothing else.'

At the end of the call, he thanked the 'great' journalists for taking the time to let him explain the exercises and said: 'The maritime space in this region is critical to the flow of commerce and freedom of navigation across the globe.

'It connects the Pacific to the Mediterranean and Europe, then into the Atlantic.'

The U.S. Fifth Fleet with regional and global partners has the ability to simultaneously execute Full Spectrum distributed operations in the maritime environment across these three choke points.

The Navy has not offered any information about Admiral Stearney's mental health since that phone call.

The US Navy's Crntral Command in Manama, Bahrain. It remains unclear how Admiral Stearney was found, who found him or even when he died

In announcing his death, it asked for privacy for his wife, Shelly, and their two children who live in Virginia.

'This is devastating news for the Stearney family, for the team at Fifth Fleet and for the entire Navy.

'Scott Stearney was a decorated Naval warrior, he was a devoted husband and father and he was a good friend to all of us,' Admiral John Richardson said.

'I ask that you keep the Stearney family in your prayers and respect their privacy as they navigate through these very difficult times,' he added.

Bahrain's Ministry of Interior did not return requests for more information.

Stearney was a native of Chicago, Illinois. He earned a degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame before enlisting in the Navy in 1982.

He then became a fighter pilot, graduating from Navy Fighter Weapons School, which is more commonly known as TOP GUN.

Stearney also earned a degree from the National Defense University.

During his career, Stearney flew the FA-18 Hornet. He also served in Kabul, Afghanistan as chief of a joint task force.

During his career, he amassed more than 4,500 mishap free flight hours and more than 1,000 carrier-arrested landings, according to the Navy.