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Third Fort Hood Solider To Be Found Dead This Month Believed To Have Drowned, Army Officials Say
The remains of two other soldiers — Vanessa Guillen and Gregory Morales — were found near the station base this month.
Authorities said Wednesday that a Fort Hood soldier found dead last week near the Texas Army base where he was stationed is believed to have drowned, according to the Bell County Sheriff’s Department.
A preliminary autopsy shows the cause of death of Pvt. Mejhor Morta, 26, to be consistent with a drowning, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin has ordered a full autopsy report, but results are pending. They will be released by the medical examiner’s office in Dallas, the sheriff’s office said.
U.S. Army officials announced Morta’s death Tuesday. It marked at least the third time in a month that a Fort Hood soldier’s body has been discovered, but there is no indication the deaths are related.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to Stillhouse Hollow Lake Dam on Friday just after midnight after fishermen in a boat located a body in the water at the base of the dam. Upon arrival, officers located Morta’s body.
The Bell County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday the investigation is ongoing.
Morta’s death came on the heels of two other soldiers’ remains being found in the area in the past month — both apparent cases of foul play and both formerly stationed at Fort Hood like Morta.
The skeletal remains of missing Pvt. Gregory Morales, 24, were found in a field in Killeen on June 21, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reported. Morales was last seen driving outside the base last August, according to a press release from Fort Hood. Investigators suspect foul play in his death.
Soon after that, on July 1, the dismembered remains of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen — who went missing in the spring — were discovered in Bell County, about 20 miles away from the base. Officials believe another solider on the base, who killed himself during a confrontation with police, had attacked and killed Guillen.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
