Army Searchers Find Body Of Missing Soldier

FORT BLISS, TX – Army officials have found the body of a 19-year-old soldier who vanished this week from a desert training range near Fort Bliss and apparently killed himself.

Searchers found Spc. John R. Fish, clad in his Army uniform, Wednesday afternoon while flying over a patch of rugged desert surrounding the Dona Ana Base Camp, about 30 miles from Fort Bliss in New Mexico, said Jean Offutt, a Fort Bliss spokeswoman. His body was found about 1 miles north of the camp.

Fish suffered what investigators believe to be a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Offutt said. It is unclear when Fish died, but investigators suspect his body had been in the desert for more than a day, Offutt said. Fish, an ammunitions specialist with the 41st Fires Brigade, a field artillery unit based at Fort Hood in Central Texas, vanished Monday morning wearing his camouflage uniform and carrying a squad automatic weapon.

The Paso Robles, Calif., man was last seen at the southern perimeter of the camp. Offutt said Fish’s weapon was found near his body. More than 1,000 soldiers spent nearly three days searching parts of the 230,000-acre desert training range that surrounds the camp for any sign of Fish. Wednesday morning his cap was found about 1 miles north of the camp. A partially buried pile of ammunition, including bullets that would fit in the rifle Fish had, was later found about 2 miles to the west.

Lt. Col. Ina Yahn, who commands Fish’s 589th Brigade Support Battalion, said Wednesday she did not believe that Fish would have left the ammunition in the desert. She added that no ammunition was missing from the unit’s supply. Fish was reported missing Monday morning when he didn’t show up for morning roll call. Army officials later found a handwritten note on his bunk reading: “I have some things to take care of. I won’t be coming back.”

Fish served a yearlong tour in Iraq, returning in November, but was assigned largely non-combat jobs, Yahn said. Yahn said this week that Fish was introverted, but his extensive writings revealed to her a soldier with low self-esteem who may be depressed. His friends in the unit also described Fish as quiet, but said his disappearance was a shock to them.

As of late Wednesday, Fort Bliss officials said that the search for missing SPC. Fishwas ‘ongoing’.However ABC-7 confirmed through New Mexico law enforcement officials that he was found near the Dona Ana Base Camp midday Wednesday. Other published reports seemed to indicate that SPC. Fish had been found dead, with a single gunshot wound. There was no official confirmation on these reports from Ft. Bliss officials.

Fort Bliss officials told ABC-7 early Thursday that the search had been called off. Since he disappeared, more than a 1,000 soldiers from his brigade had been searching parts of the 230,000-acre desert training range. Officials began looking into the report ofFish’scap being found Wednesday morning, said Lt. Col. Ina Yahn, commander of Fish’s 589th Brigade Support Battalion. To aid in the aerial to ground search three more airborne platforms have been added.

The aircraft include an air force HH-60 helicopter, from Davis-Monthan, Air Force Base, Tucson, AZ and fixed wing Civil Air Patrol search aircraft one from Texas and another from New Mexico. The 41st Fires Brigade was conducting field training at Fort Bliss’ Doa Ana Base Camp when Fish was reported missing Monday. Fish, an ammunition specialist, left a noteon his bunk that said, “I have some things to take care of. I won’t be coming back,” according to Col. Dick Francey.

Searchers were re-combing areas they searched on foot before, but this time with more soldiers. Army officials believed Fish, a 19-year-old ammunition specialist from Paso Robles, Calif., would have been found by now, Yahn said. He was believed to have 2 1/2 liters of water, two cellular phones and a weapon similar to an M-16. Officials from Fort Bliss did confirm that Fish did draw a weapon from the arms storage room, but it is unknown if he still has it.

Post officials tell ABC-7 that all ammunition was accounted for and all ammunition boxeswere still sealed. Fish is described as white, 6-foot, 3-inches tall, 175 lbs.with brown hair and brown eyes. Fish served in Iraq for one year, returning in November and fellow soldiers say he wasn’t wounded and didn’t appear to be depressed.

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL Associated Press Writer