Vanessa Guillen missing: Army suspects foul play in disappearance, congresswoman says
06/24/2020 4:56 pm PDT
UPDATE June 26, 2020:
Texas EquuSearch has been searching for Vanessa Guillen this week near the Leon River, with crews returning to the location several times, KTRK-TV reports. The group had called off a search Thursday after founder Tim Miller said they searched everywhere that was "significant." They returned to Killeen Friday after receiving new information from investigators.
KCBD-TV reports Miller and volunteers with Texas EquuSearch spent Wednesday searching a neighborhood near 439 and Sparta Road in Bell County.
“I think we found some things and they're doing some testing on some things. If it has anything to do with it or not, I don't know. We were all pretty optimistic on it. We won't know for sure until results come back from the lab,” Tim Miller said. “Yes, there is a reason we have been every place we have been."
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June 24, 2020:
KILLEEN, Texas (KXAN/AP) -- U.S. Army investigators are suspecting foul play in the disappearance of a Texas soldier who has been missing for two months, a congresswoman confirmed Tuesday.
Pfc. Vanessa Guillen's disappearance is being treated as a criminal investigation after she went missing April 22, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said Tuesday at a news conference with the solider's family.
Garcia and Guillen's family met with Army leaders to discuss the investigation into the disappearance of the 20-year-old Fort Hood soldier. During the meeting, family members told Army officials that Guillen told them she'd been sexually harassed by her superiors. But Guillen didn't report the harassment because she was afraid of retaliation, said Natalie Khawam, the family's attorney.
The only information Army leaders provided is Guillen's last known contact on April 22 at 11:30 a.m., Garcia said. Guillen, a native of Houston, was last seen at a Fort Hood parking lot wearing a black T-shirt and purple workout pants.
A $50,000 reward is being offered for any information that leads to the soldier's whereabouts. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and the League of United Latin American Citizens is each contributing $25,000 to fund the reward.
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