COLUMBIA, S.C. — A soldier missing from Fort Jackson was found dead and an investigation into how he died is underway.
Brig. General Jason Kelly, the commanding general at the base, confirmed Wednesday morning that 40-year-old Staff Sgt. Jaime Contreras had been located Monday night. On Tuesday, the base had said Contreras, a drill sergeant candidate, had been found but didn't provide additional details.
"We're all deeply saddened by this loss," Kelly said, adding that the base is providing support to Contreras' family and his fellow teammates at the base.
Kelly said that on Monday, Contreras had been taking part in a training at the land navigation course, a 1,500 acre area on the military installation. Major John Ferrell, an incident commander at Fort Jackson who helped with the search, said Contreras began the training at 10 a.m., and was due back at 1 p.m. When he didn't show up by 2 p.m., leadership was notified and a search began.
SLED, the Richland County Sheriff's Department, and others began aiding in the search. Ferrell said they got a ping off Contreras' cell phone which allowed them to narrow their search, and began using aircraft to search from above.
Around 11:20 p.m. Monday, Contreras' body was found in an area several dozen yards off the course, in what Ferrell said was "rugged" terrain.
Kelly and other officials did not reveal any potential cause of death saying that the investigation had only begun. Ferrell said it's common for recruits to go off course, but it's not clear why he deviated from the course.
Contreras had been with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. He had just begun week eight of 10 of his training to be a drill sergeant.
Kelly said plans for a memorial are underway for Contreras, who was originally from Las Vegas, Nevada.