Fourth missing US soldier's body found in Lithuania following tragic incident

The body of a fourth missing US soldier has been recovered, a week after the team disappeared during military drills near the city of Pabrade, officials confirmed.

The soldier was part of a four-person team operating an M88A2 Hercules armoured recovery vehicle when they vanished. The vehicle and the bodies of the other three soldiers were located in a peat bog on March 31, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The extensive search and recovery effort involved hundreds of personnel from the US Army and Navy, along with forces from Lithuania, Poland, and Estonia. The mission to extract the heavy vehicle from the swamp required additional M88A2 Hercules units and bulldozers, with teams working around the clock.

“This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain... the world is darker without them,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie in a statement released by US Army Europe and Africa.

Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza described the incident as a “tragic accident” and commended the international response. It was “humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries and continents come together,” he said.

The exact location where the final soldier’s body was recovered has not been disclosed. The soldiers had been operating near Lithuania’s border with Belarus at the time of the incident.

The M88A2 Hercules is among the largest recovery vehicles used by the US military, designed to retrieve damaged tanks and other armoured vehicles from the battlefield. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

The soldiers’ identities have not been released. They had been deployed to Lithuania as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, the US-led mission bolstering NATO’s eastern flank in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The US Army continues to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

By Vugar Khalilov