Bodies of 3 of 4 US Soldiers Missing in Lithuania Found

UPDATE Mar 31, 2025 10:23 AM CDT

The bodies of three of four missing American soldiers in Lithuania have been found inside their armored vehicle, which was pulled out of a peat bog, reports CNN and the AP. The search continues for the fourth soldier after their M88 Hercules vehicle was dug out of the swampy area in the town of Pabrade. The US troops, all out of Fort Stewart in Georgia, were on a tactical training exercise when they disappeared last week.

Mar 31, 2025 8:57 AM CDT

A US armored vehicle that went missing in Lithuania has been retrieved from a swamp after a six-day search, but there is still no information about the fate of the four American soldiers who were on board, per the AP. "The armored vehicle was pulled ashore at 4:40am," Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said Monday in a post on Facebook. The soldiers were on a training exercise at the massive General Silvestras Zukauskas training ground in the town of Pabrade when they and their vehicle were reported missing in the early hours of Tuesday, the US Army said.

"Until the investigators have more details, we need to stay calm and focused, and keep in mind the sensitivity of the situation and the concerns of the soldiers' families," Sakaliene wrote. The soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, out of Georgia were conducting tactical training when they went missing. Hundreds of Lithuanian and US soldiers and rescuers took part in the search through the thick forests and swampy terrain around Pabrade, which lies 6 miles west of the border with Belarus. The M88 Hercules armored vehicle was discovered on Wednesday submerged in 15 feet of water. (NATO initially said the four Americans were dead, but later walked that back.)