Fourth missing soldier's body recovered from vehicle at Lithuanian training area | Stars and Stripes
Maik, a search and rescue military police dog, and his handler from the Estonian military assist in recovery efforts for a missing U.S. soldier on a military training site near Pabrade, Lithuania, April 1, 2025. (Christopher Saunders/U.S. Army)
The body of a fourth U.S. soldier missing in Lithuania was recovered Tuesday, U.S. Army Europe and Africa officials said.
The body was found a day after rescuers recovered three other soldiers, who died last week after their armored vehicle sunk into a deep, muddy bog near the city of Pabrade, at a military base about 6 miles from the border with Belarus.
The area has been a training hub for U.S. forces for many years.
The M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle was extracted after a nearly weeklong operation that involved hundreds of personnel.
The names of the fallen soldiers, all members of the 1st Armored Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, weren’t immediately released, pending the completion of next-of-kin notifications.
To assist in the search for the missing fourth soldier, recovery dogs and two specialized drone systems— including one equipped with ground-penetrating radar — were added to the effort, the Army said Tuesday.
Lithuania, Poland and Estonia all provided manpower and equipment for the search, which was launched soon after the soldiers went missing on March 25.
This report will be updated.
