Partial human remains found during search for missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen



BELL COUNTY, Texas -- The US Army says partial human remains have been found close to the Leon River in Bell County, an area of interest in the search for missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen.

Army CID says no confirmation of the identity of the remains has been made at this point.

According to CID, due to "extensive investigative work," agents had returned to the area to conduct more investigative work. They discovered what has been described as "partial human remains" after analysis from a forensic anthropologist.

Agents are currently on scene with the Texas Rangers, the FBI, and the Bell County Sheriff's Office. CID says no other information will be released at this time.



20-year-old Guillen was last seen April 22 between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Regimental Engineer Squadron Headquarters, 3rd Cavalry Regiment on Fort Hood, Texas and has not been heard from since.

Her car keys, barracks room key, identification card, and wallet were later found in the armory room where she was working earlier in the day. She was last seen in the parking lot wearing a black t-shirt and purple fitness-type pants.

RELATED: US Army troopers continue searching for missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen

The 3rd Cavalry Regiment commander, Col. Ralph Overland, recently appointed an investigating team led by a senior investigating officer (IO) to conduct a commander’s investigation, referred to as an “AR 15-6 Investigation” into allegations that Guillen was sexually harassed.

Ft. Hood officials said in a Facebook post that U.S. Army troopers with the 3rd Calvary Regiment searched for Guillen June 17-18 in the training area near the regiment area of operations and then expanded the search north, on the east side of the training area. Troopers searched buildings, barracks, fields, training areas, lakes, and trails.



Officials say Guillen is originally from Houston and an avid runner. She's described as being of Hispanic descent, five feet, two inches tall, 126 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Her Military Occupational Specialty is a 91F, Small Arms/Artillery Repairer.

A reward has also been doubled for help finding Guillen. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) recently announced that they have agreed to match the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's $25,000 reward. The combined reward is now $50,000.

RELATED: Investigation initiated into sexual harassment allegations concerning missing Ft. Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen

Guillen’s story has prompted hundreds of women to share their own experiences with sexual misconduct in the military on social media, using the hashtag #iamvanessaguillen.