Last on recovery efforts for 4 missing American soldiers in Lithuania on March 30

County of Vilnius, Lithuania – The bodies of three of the four soldiers who operated in a armored vehicle flowing in a mud abyss in a peat bog has been recovered, the army secretary announced on Monday.

“It is with a deep sadness that I share the heartbreaking news of the loss of three brave soldiers of the 1st brigade, the 3rd infantry division, which tragically lost their life during a mission to recover vehicles in Lithuania,” said army secretary Daniel P. Driscoll.

The 3rd infantry division is based in Fort Stewart in Georgia. The fourth soldier was not found; The press release said: “We will not rest until the fourth and last soldier is found and brought home.”

The soldiers were not identified. The wife of one of the soldiers, the 25 -year -old SGT. Edvin Franco, spoke to Cody Alcorn of 11alive and identified it. The wife, Georgia Franco, said that her husband was a reservoir mechanic parked in Fort Stewart since he joined the army in 2018.

We do not know if the SGT. Franco was one of the three soldiers recovered on Monday.

The soldiers disappeared on the morning of March 25. Their vehicle was then located overwhelmed in a mixture of mud, water and silt in a wooded area near the border of Lithuania with the Bélarus.

The nature of the vehicle recovery mission was not detailed by dry. DRISCOLL. The soldiers would initially have carried out a tactical training planned in the region.

“No word can really capture the pain of this loss, but my greatest condolences go to families, friends and other soldiers crying for their heroes,” said Driscoll.

Recovery efforts have included digging and pumping to erase the site and the diving teams were also deployed on the site. The M88 Hercules in which the soldiers operated was estimated at one point at around four meters (about 13 feet) below the surface.

US army Europe and Africa said hundreds of rescuers and soldiers were on the spot in recovery efforts. This included soldiers from Lithuania and Poland.

Sunday morning, American of the American army and Africa declared that the soldiers had attended a mass in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, for the missing soldiers

“Our worst fear as a military spouse is to knock on your door,” said Georgia Franco, adding that she had “crushing” support for crisis and chaplains.

Georgia Franco added: “We want them to come back to us so that we can have our closure, whatever the result.”