AngelsSix
02-18-2009, 19:07
Okay, maybe two.
Where the hell were these kids' parents? Neither one of them was a dependent. So why were two girls that age hanging out at a military base at 3 a.m.?
2 Teen Girls Found in Wash. Army Barracks; 1 Dead
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
FORT LEWIS, Wash. — A 16-year-old girl was found dead and another teenage girl was discovered unconscious in a barracks on this Army base south of Tacoma, the Army said Monday.
In a statement issued about 36 hours after base emergency personnel responded to a 911 call early Sunday morning, Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Piek said a Madigan Army Medical Center doctor declared one girl dead at the scene. The second teen was taken to Madigan for emergency medical care and was reported in stable condition Monday.
There were no outward signs of physical trauma on either girl, Piek told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday night. He said Army doctors at Madigan were performing an autopsy on the dead girl, but results might not be available for at least a week.
The Army is investigating what the girls were doing in the barracks and whether drugs or alcohol were involved, he said. The presence of the two civilian girls "in the barracks at 3:30 a.m. is likely a violation of any of the units' barracks visitation policies," he said.
Civilians entering and leaving the base are supposed to be carefully tracked.
A civilian entering the base has to show ID, Army spokesman John Norgren told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, adding, "You have to have a reason to be on the installation and you have to be sponsored" by a member of the military on base.
"It's quite a comprehensive system," Norgren said.
Piek said the Army would not be releasing the names of the girls because they were minors and civilians. The Fort Lewis Criminal Investigation Division was investigating both the circumstances and cause of death.
A Fort Lewis soldier who was "allegedly acquainted with the two girls" has been questioned, but no arrests have been made, Piek said.
The Army didn't release information about the incident until Monday because it took place during a holiday weekend and officials needed to notify the teens' families, the spokesman said.
Army Suspects Drugs in Death of Teen Girl at Fort Lewis in Washington State
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
FORT LEWIS, Wash. —
Army investigators believe the death of a 16-year-old civilian girl at a barracks on Fort Lewis was possibly drug-related, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Chris Grey, a spokesman at the Criminal Investigation Command headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Va., wouldn't specify what drug or drugs may have been involved. Toxicology results are not expected for at least a week, he said.
Grey said the dead girl and another 16-year-old civilian girl who was found passed out early Sunday were both acquainted with a soldier in the barracks.
The surviving girl was in stable and improving condition Wednesday at Madigan Army Medical Center, said Joseph J. Piek, a Fort Lewis spokesman.
"Once she is in a state that she can be interviewed by the Criminal Investigation Division, I'm sure the investigators will do so to gather the facts about what the girls were doing on post," Piek said.
The dead girl was identified by her family on her MySpace page as Leah King.
"Just so everyone knows, we have very few details about what happened to Leah," the family statement said. "But what we know, we are not supposed to share just yet."
Grey and Piek said investigators had not released information on how the girls entered the post and what happened before a 911 call.
Both girls are from the south Puget Sound area and neither was a military dependent.
Piek said part of the investigation will focus on policies for allowing civilian visitors on post and for guests at barracks. No overnight visitors are allowed in the barracks, and authorized visitors must leave the base by 2 a.m. on weekends.
Minors who aren't a member of their host's immediate family must be accompanied in the barracks by a parent or guardian.
Piek said a review has been started of a policy that allows anyone with a valid Department of Defense identification to escort a civilian — even an unrelated minor — onto the post.
"To what extent these policies were followed will be a subject of the ongoing investigation," Piek said.
The manager of a dry cleaning store near Fort Lewis told The Seattle Times she often sees teenage girls approach young soldiers at a parking lot across the street from her shop and ask for rides onto the post.
"It's easy for them to get on the post. It happens all the time," Plaza Cleaners manager Maria Dibbens said. "They want to get on base and see the young GIs."
Additional coverage from Q13 FOX Seattle.
Where the hell were these kids' parents? Neither one of them was a dependent. So why were two girls that age hanging out at a military base at 3 a.m.?
2 Teen Girls Found in Wash. Army Barracks; 1 Dead
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
FORT LEWIS, Wash. — A 16-year-old girl was found dead and another teenage girl was discovered unconscious in a barracks on this Army base south of Tacoma, the Army said Monday.
In a statement issued about 36 hours after base emergency personnel responded to a 911 call early Sunday morning, Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Piek said a Madigan Army Medical Center doctor declared one girl dead at the scene. The second teen was taken to Madigan for emergency medical care and was reported in stable condition Monday.
There were no outward signs of physical trauma on either girl, Piek told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday night. He said Army doctors at Madigan were performing an autopsy on the dead girl, but results might not be available for at least a week.
The Army is investigating what the girls were doing in the barracks and whether drugs or alcohol were involved, he said. The presence of the two civilian girls "in the barracks at 3:30 a.m. is likely a violation of any of the units' barracks visitation policies," he said.
Civilians entering and leaving the base are supposed to be carefully tracked.
A civilian entering the base has to show ID, Army spokesman John Norgren told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, adding, "You have to have a reason to be on the installation and you have to be sponsored" by a member of the military on base.
"It's quite a comprehensive system," Norgren said.
Piek said the Army would not be releasing the names of the girls because they were minors and civilians. The Fort Lewis Criminal Investigation Division was investigating both the circumstances and cause of death.
A Fort Lewis soldier who was "allegedly acquainted with the two girls" has been questioned, but no arrests have been made, Piek said.
The Army didn't release information about the incident until Monday because it took place during a holiday weekend and officials needed to notify the teens' families, the spokesman said.
Army Suspects Drugs in Death of Teen Girl at Fort Lewis in Washington State
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
FORT LEWIS, Wash. —
Army investigators believe the death of a 16-year-old civilian girl at a barracks on Fort Lewis was possibly drug-related, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Chris Grey, a spokesman at the Criminal Investigation Command headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Va., wouldn't specify what drug or drugs may have been involved. Toxicology results are not expected for at least a week, he said.
Grey said the dead girl and another 16-year-old civilian girl who was found passed out early Sunday were both acquainted with a soldier in the barracks.
The surviving girl was in stable and improving condition Wednesday at Madigan Army Medical Center, said Joseph J. Piek, a Fort Lewis spokesman.
"Once she is in a state that she can be interviewed by the Criminal Investigation Division, I'm sure the investigators will do so to gather the facts about what the girls were doing on post," Piek said.
The dead girl was identified by her family on her MySpace page as Leah King.
"Just so everyone knows, we have very few details about what happened to Leah," the family statement said. "But what we know, we are not supposed to share just yet."
Grey and Piek said investigators had not released information on how the girls entered the post and what happened before a 911 call.
Both girls are from the south Puget Sound area and neither was a military dependent.
Piek said part of the investigation will focus on policies for allowing civilian visitors on post and for guests at barracks. No overnight visitors are allowed in the barracks, and authorized visitors must leave the base by 2 a.m. on weekends.
Minors who aren't a member of their host's immediate family must be accompanied in the barracks by a parent or guardian.
Piek said a review has been started of a policy that allows anyone with a valid Department of Defense identification to escort a civilian — even an unrelated minor — onto the post.
"To what extent these policies were followed will be a subject of the ongoing investigation," Piek said.
The manager of a dry cleaning store near Fort Lewis told The Seattle Times she often sees teenage girls approach young soldiers at a parking lot across the street from her shop and ask for rides onto the post.
"It's easy for them to get on the post. It happens all the time," Plaza Cleaners manager Maria Dibbens said. "They want to get on base and see the young GIs."
Additional coverage from Q13 FOX Seattle.