Fort Hood soldier who killed himself was alive for at least three days after he was discharged from a psychiatric hospital and wrote suicide note saying 'talking might help' - as family slam Army for not starting search sooner

A Fort Hood soldier is believed to have been alive for at least three days after he vanished when was discharged from a psychiatric hospital in Texas before committing suicide, as his family members slam the Army for not searching for him sooner. 

Sgt Elder Fernandes was found dead on August 25, 30 miles from Fort Hood, six days after he had been reported missing, but Army bosses have been accused of missing opportunities to find him and get him help.

According to the Boston Globe, Fernandes checked into the Darnall Medical Center on August 11. 

He told doctors that he was suicidal, even writing it down on a note that reads: 'I am here today because I was going to kill myself. Talking to someone might help.'

Fernandes told staff that he was bullied after alleging he had been sexually assaulted by another soldier. 

At the time of his disappearance, Fort Hood public affairs officer Lt Col Chris Brautigam confirmed that Fernandes had reported sexual abuse before he vanished and was transferred to another unit, 'to ensure he received the proper care and ensure there were no opportunities for reprisals'.

Fernandes spent six days at the Darnall Medical Center before being dropped off at a friend's house off base and left alone. 

Fort Hood soldier Sgt Elder Fernandes (left and right) is believed to have been alive for at least three days after he was discharged from a psychiatric hospital in Texas before committing suicide

Fernandes checked into the Darnall Medical Center on August 11. He told doctors that he was suicidal when he arrived to the center 

He wrote a note that reads: 'I am here today because I was going to kill myself. Talking to someone might help.' Fernandes told staff that he was bullied after alleging he had been sexually assaulted by another soldier

The sergeant was last seen on August 17. He was reported missing on August 19 and his body was found hanging from a tree on August 25. His death was deemed a suicide by local police.  

His mother, Ailina Fernandes, flew to Texas on August 19 and demanded that the Army and local police look for her son. 

Police in Killeen, Texas, told Ailina that they would help and began to search for him. 

But she says the Army first told her that her son was AWOL, and they wouldn’t start looking for him for 30 days, she told the Globe.

A report from Killeen police says Fernandes was alive at least three days after he left the hospital, according to the Globe. 

On August 19, he was seen resting on someone's property in Nolanville, Texas.

The owner of the property told police that he asked Fernandes if he was okay and if he needed a ride somewhere. 

He said Fernandes responded that 'he was not really headed anywhere' and walked off. 

Authorities were able to trace pings from the soldier's phone, with one suggesting that he was at a restaurant in Nolanville.  

The person who saw Fernandes's body hanging from a tree on August 25 said the soldier was not there when he walked by the same area on August 20. 

Referring to Army officials, his aunt Isabel Fernandes said: 'They knew he was pleading for help.' 

'The first 24 hours were crucial. Bells should have gone off. They should have moved mountains to find him,' she added.  

Army officials released an independent panel's report on chronic leadership failures and widespread violence at Fort Hood. Last week, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy fired three top commanders and suspended two others pending a further investigation

Fort Hood Independent Review's Main Findings and Recommendations 

 

Army officials have insisted that they conducted a thorough and widespread search for Fernandes before his body was found. 

Their first press release about Fernandes went out on August 20 and another was sent on August 21, which sought out the public's help.  

Last week, members of Congress pledged to deepen their investigations into sexual assault, harassment and other problems at Fort Hood and explore legislation, zeroing in on what officials say are glaring deficiencies in the Army criminal investigations unit at the base.

That announcement came a day after Army officials released an independent panel's report on chronic leadership failures and widespread violence at Fort Hood.

They praised the five-member panel and the initial response of Army leaders, last week fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at the base.

'Red flags' have been ignored at the base for years, said Rep Jackie Speier, who leads the House Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel. She said she will hold Army leaders accountable as they move to address the failures.

Speier's panel and the House Oversight and Reform subcommittee on national security, headed by Rep Stephen Lynch, are conducting their own investigations into the recent deaths of soldiers at Fort Hood, gathering thousands of pages of documents.

The investigations come after a year that saw as many as 28 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood die due to suicide, homicide or accidents, and included the bludgeoning death of Spc Vanessa Guillen. 

Investigators say Guillen, 20, was killed by Spc Aaron Robinson, who killed himself on July 1 as police were trying to take him into custody.

Guillen was missing for more than two months before her remains were found. Her family has said Robinson sexually harassed her; the Army has said there is no evidence supporting that claim.

The independent panel found there was a permissive environment for sexual assault and harassment at the base. 

Panel members said in testimony before Speier's subcommittee that there was an alarming lack of knowledge about and confidence in the Army's sexual assault and harassment response and prevention program.

They said soldiers, particularly women, didn't know basic information about reporting incidents or what services there were to help them, and that female soldiers feared retaliation if they did file a report.

As an example, Chris Swecker, chairman of the independent panel, said just 20 per cent of the soldiers in one of the base's larger units got all five 'very easy' questions correct in a quiz on the sexual assault prevention program. In most units soldiers got just 45 per cent to 60 per cent correct.

Lawmakers questioned panel members about the Army's criminal investigators and what must be done to improve their ability to effectively work cases of assault, harassment or missing soldiers.

Swecker said that more civilian agents, with longer experience, should be moved to the Army Criminal Investigations Command, or CID, unit at the base. He said the base is used as a training ground for new agents who lack experience and often don't use key technology tools to locate missing solders.

For example, he said agents should immediately seek permission to ping a missing soldier's cellphone to determine their whereabouts, particularly if it's someone who isn't chronically away without leave, or AWOL.

Lynch said the report is a good first step in rectifying what he called a 'toxic command climate' at the base. He said he believes CID investigators rely too heavily on polygraph tests to check assault and harassment claims. 

The investigations come after a year that saw as many as 28 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood die due to suicide, homicide or accidents, and included the bludgeoning death of Spc Vanessa Guillen. Officials said Aaron Robinson is suspected in killing Guillen

Fort Hood soldier, Pfc Gregory Morales was reported missing from the base a year ago in August 2019. The 24-year-old's remains were found in June in a field in Killeen during the search for Guillen's remains

Pvt Mejhor Morta, 26, of Florida was found unresponsive on July 17 near Stillhouse Hollow Lake. The body of Spc Francisco Gilberto Hernandezvargas, 24, was found August 2 after he died in a boating accident at the same lake 

He pointed to the case of Fernandes whose body was found about 28 miles from Fort Hood.

Fernandes, who was from Lynch's congressional district, had complained of sexual harassment, but the case was determined to be unsubstantiated after the accused passed a polygraph test. 

Swecker and other panel members said cases should not be decided by polygraph tests and that experienced agents would know better.

Lynch said his subcommittee will continue to investigate the deaths of Guillen and Fernandes and 'ensure that Army leaders restore a climate at Fort Hood that respects, values, and protects the men and women under their command'.

Last week, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy fired three top commanders and suspended two others pending a further investigation. 

He also ordered a separate investigation into staffing and procedures at the base's CID unit. The Guillen family's lawyer said CID agents were among the 14 affected by McCarthy's administrative actions.

Army leaders concluded that leadership failures contributed to the widespread crime problems at Fort Hood. They accepted the review panel's recommendations and pledged to enact the changes.

The five-member panel spent three weeks at Fort Hood and conducted more than 2,500 interviews, including 647 in person. 

More than 500 of those were with female soldiers. They also collected more than 31,000 responses to a sexual assault and harassment survey.