March 27, 2025
We want everyone to know, we will not stop until our Soldiers are found.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor with an update on four missing soldiers in Lithuania.
Why It Matters: The soldiers have been missing since early Tuesday and their location and condition remains unknown.
What Happened: The four Army soldiers were in a large armored vehicle (M88), commonly used to rescue other armored vehicles, such as tanks. The four soldiers drove their vehicle into a training area to retrieve another vehicle and went missing. Their M88 was discovered in a swampy, densely forested area.
An update released on Friday detailed additional recovery efforts, including bringing in “a large capacity slurry pump, cranes, more than 30 tons of gravel, and subject matter experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.” People working around the clock on recovery efforts include the U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuanian contractors and officials and Polish Armed Forces. The update said the vehicle was “submerged approximately 15 feet under a body of water and mud.”
“Due to the conditions of the terrain, this is a complex and difficult operation. The area around the site is incredibly wet and marshy and doesn’t support the weight of the equipment needed for the recovery of the 70-ton vehicle without significant engineering improvements. Draining the area has been slow and difficult due to ground water seepage. The U.S. Army continues coordinating for additional subject matter experts and equipment to include a specialized US Navy Dive Crew from team CTF68. The dive crew is expected to arrive on site within the next 24 hours.”
Read More: PRESS RELEASE – Additional recovery assets arrive in support of recovery efforts in Lithuania (Mar 28, 2025)
PRESS RELEASE – Recovery Efforts Continue at Site of Submerged Vehicle in Search for Missing Soldiers (Mar 27, 2025)
by Jenna Lee, Founder of SmartHER News
