Missing Fort Hood soldier who had reported sexual abuse 'left on his own accord' after trip to the hospital, his division claims after 11 deaths on the base
A Fort Hood soldier who had reported sexual abuse before his disappearance from the Texas base last week seems to have left of his own free will and no foul play is suspected, US Army officials have said.
Sgt. Elder Fernandes, 23, was reported missing last Wednesday. Killeen police said he has not been seen since August 17 when his staff sergeant dropped him off at a home where a relative said he previously lived.
'We continue to believe Sgt Fernandes left on his own accord and there is no connection between his and any other ongoing cases at Fort Hood,' the 1st Cavalry Division said in a statement released on Sunday.
Fernandes' case shed additional light on a spate of disappearances, deaths and accidents at the base that led the US Army Secretary to launch an investigation last month. At the time, Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that Fort Hood had one of the highest rates of murder, sexual assault and harassment in the Army.
Fort Hood officials have issued a missing soldier alert for Sgt. Elder Fernandes. In the alert issued Thursday, officials said the soldier with the 1st Cavalry Division is the subject of an active search and that their 'primary concern is to ensure his safety and well-being'
Fernandes, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist with the 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade, is the third solider from Fort Hood to go missing in the past year and two have been found dead this summer, including Vanessa Guillen and Gregory Morales.
Division spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Brautigam previously confirmed there is an ongoing investigation into a report Fernandes made of 'abusive sexual contact" toward him.
'The unit sexual assault response coordinator has been working closely with Sgt. Fernandes, ensuring he was aware of all his reporting, care, and victim advocacy options,' he said in an earlier statement.
Brautigam also stated that Fernandes had been transferred to another unit, 'to ensure he received the proper care and ensure there were no opportunities for reprisals.'
Fernandes' older brother, Elton, told ABC News that his sibling had confided in him a month ago that the abuse consisted of another man grabbing his buttocks, but he reassured Elton that he was 'taking care of it.'
Natalie Khawam, a lawyer representing the Guillen family and now the Fernandes family, told ABC News that Elder got 'very, very depressed' after being sexually harassed while working in a supply room in April.
Fernandes was discharged from a hospital on August 17 and was dropped off at this address in Killeen, Texas, where family said he previously lived
Fernandes was admitted to an on-base hospital on August 11 for an unspecified reason. He remained there until August 17, which marked the last time he was seen by anyone.
His mother and aunt told ABC News that they spoke to him several times during his hospitalization, including on the eve of his last sighting, but he was vague as to his condition.
‘Finding Sgt Elder Fernandes safe and resuming the care he was receiving before his recent absence remains the top priority of the 1st Cavalry Division,’ the unit’s statement from Sunday read.
According to the release, soldiers from Fernandes’ unit have spent the past week thoroughly searching parking lots, barracks and buildings on the base.
'Additionally, soldiers have visited local hotels and hospitals throughout central Texas and continue to expand their search efforts,' the statement read.
Police said Fernandes was last seen Monday when his staff sergeant dropped him off at his home in Killeen.
But his aunt, Isabel Fernandes, said that is not her nephew's current address. His former roommate at the residence reportedly told the family he had not lived there for some time, and he never entered the home on Monday.
While Fernandes' family have expressed frustration with the quality of the communication between them and the Army, the 1st Cavalry Division offered a different narrative.
‘The command very much appreciates the concerns of Sgt Fernandes' Family and is doing all we can to maintain a positive dialogue and keep them informed of the progress of the search,’ the Sunday read. ‘It is our desire we work together to find him.
‘His immediate leadership initiated communication with the Family before his current disappearance and has met with them daily since their arrival. We met again with them in person today. We intend to share much information with them as possible.'
Officials appealed directly to Fernandes, asking him to reach out to his Army leadership, his family, police or a local hospital 'so we can ensure he receives the care he needs.'
Fort Hood soldier, Pfc. Gregory Morales (left), was reported missing from the base a year ago on August 20, 2019. The 24-year-old's remains were found on June 21 in a field in Killeen. Then on July 1, Army officials found human remains that were later identified as those 20-year-old Pfc. Vanessa Guillén (right) - a Fort Hood soldier who had been missing since April
Fernandes' disappearance comes a year after the disappearance of Pfc. Gregory Morales, 24, a Fort Hood soldier who was reported missing on August 20, 2019.
His remains were found June 21 in a field in Killeen, near Fort Hood. Killeen police and Army officials are still investigating his death and foul play is suspected.
Vanessa Guillén´s body was found a week later in July after her disappearance in April.
Fellow soldier Spc. Aaron Robinson, 20, killed and dismembered Guillén and had the remains disposed of in nearby woods, federal and state investigators said.
Robinson killed himself July 1, the day Guillén's remains were found, officials said.
Cecily Aguilar, 22, of Killeen, has been accused of disposing of Guillén's remains for Robinson and has been charged with three federal conspiracy counts related to the soldier's death.
She has pleaded not guilty.
Guillén´s family has said she was sexually harassed by the soldier suspected of killing her, but the Army has said there is no evidence to support that. There is an ongoing investigation.
Fernandes was last seen on Monday afternoon when his staff sergeant dropped him off at his home in Killeen - just four miles from the Fort Hood base
His disappearance follows the deaths of 11 Fort Hood soldiers this year alone. Of the 11 deaths, foul play is suspected in five of those. An independent investigation is currently underway into the embattled army base (above) following the string of deaths and disappearance
The other soldiers to have died this year include: Pvt. Mejhor Morta; Spc. Francisco Gilberto Hernandezvargas; Pfc. Brandon Scott Rosecrans; Spc. Freddy Delacruz Jr; Spc. Christopher Wayne Sawyer; and Spc. Shelby Tyler Jones.
The two most recent deaths linked to the base include Sgt. Bradley Moore, 36, who died at the base during a training exercise last week. He was with the Texas Army National Guard.
Spc. Cole Jakob Aton, 22, was also killed last week while assisting at the scene of a car accident near the base. He had been standing on the road trying to direct traffic around the crash when he was hit by a car.
Aton had previously shared petitions and posts on social media demanding answers into the deaths and disappearances at the Fort Hood base.
Two Fort Hood soldiers were among the nine people arrested earlier this month in a massive child prostitution sting. Anthony Xavier Antwon, 25, (left) and Timmy Jones Jr., 30, (right) were allegedly caught trying to pay minors for sex over social media
Meanwhile, two Fort Hood soldiers were among the nine people arrested earlier this month in a massive child prostitution sting.
Anthony Xavier Antwon, 25, and Timmy Jones Jr., 30, were allegedly caught trying to pay minors for sex over social media.
They are accused of contacting police posing as 15 and 16-year-old girls on social media and arranging to meet them for sex.
Police allege the men were willing to pay the girls in cash, drugs or alcohol.
They were arrested when they arrived at the arranged locations to meet who they thought were the underage girls.
Fernandes' family and the U.S. Army are asking for the public´s help in finding the missing soldier.
'Help us find him,' said Isabel Fernandes, the aunt of Elder Fernandes, who lives in Massachusetts . 'We just want to find him alive soon. He needs to be home with his family.'
Natalie Khawam, a lawyer representing the Guillen family, said she will also be representing the Fernandes family. She echoed her calls for a congressional investigation of Fort Hood and said the soldiers at the Texas base and their families deserve to know the truth.
State representative Liz Miranda, D-Massachusets, said on social media that Fernandes' car had been found with all of his belongings and that he had recently signed a new apartment lease but never picked up the keys.
A Killeen police statement described Fernandes as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing 133 pounds (60.33 kilograms) and said he was last seen wearing black Army physical training shorts and a T-shirt with red athletic shoes.
Members of Congress have joined advocates for women demanding systemic shifts in military culture. Some have invoked the hashtag #NiUnaMas, meaning 'not one more woman dead,' a rallying cry in Mexico against the killing of women.
Back in April 2014, Iraq war veteran Spc. Ivan Lopez opened fire at the base killing three and wounding 16 others. He then shot himself dead
Last month, Guillen's family met with President Donald Trump to call for justice after rallying with several dozen supporters on Capitol Hill. Trump said it was a 'terrible story,' offered to pay for the funeral and helped expedite the process of returning Guillen's remains to the family for burial.
Army leaders have delayed the planned transfer of Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, the Fort Hood commander, to an assignment at Fort Bliss, Texas, while a team of independent investigators determines whether leadership failures contributed to the deaths and disappearances.
McCarthy said during a visit to Fort Hood earlier this month that the base has one of the highest rates of murder, sexual assault and harassment in the Army.
Fort Hood has also been linked to two shooting massacres involving a soldier and a military psychiatrist.
Back in April 2014, Iraq war veteran Spc. Ivan Lopez opened fire at the base killing three and wounding 16 others.
He then shot himself dead.
Authorities, at the time, had suggested that Lopez had gotten into a verbal altercation with soldier in his unit just prior to him opening fire.
Five years earlier, psychiatrist Nidal Hasan slaughtered 13 of his comrades, as well as an unborn child, at the army base in 2009 in the name of Islam. The shooting massacre left 32 others injured.
He remains in prison on death row where he has been fighting his conviction.
Nidal Hasan remains in prison on death row where he has been fighting his conviction ever since the shooting massacre
Missing Fort Hood soldier who had reported sexual abuse 'left on his own accord' after trip to the hospital, his division claims after 11 deaths on the base
![Missing Fort Hood soldier who had reported sexual abuse 'left on his own accord' after trip to the hospital, his division claims after 11 deaths on the base]()
Reviewed by Your Destination
on
August 26, 2020
Rating:
No comments