Army officials arrested a “person of interest” Thursday in the death of a Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri soldier whose body was found in a dumpster earlier this week.
Army investigators told Task & Purpose Wednesday that they were investigating the death of Sgt. Sarah Roque, 23, as a homicide.
The arrest came hours after Army officials said they had identified a ‘person of interest’ in the case, but gave no details about their identity or connection to Roque.
Roque was reported missing Monday when she did not show for a morning formation. Her unit immediately started searching for her and notified the base’s emergency services and local law enforcement, Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck, commanding general of the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood said at a press conference Thursday. Within three hours, base officials had put out a “be on the look out” notice, or BOLO, asking for help locating Roque, who was last seen near the base.
“I can say without a doubt, Sarah’s command team and the unit, as well as the rest of our team, used every resource available to locate Sarah,” Beck said. “Unfortunately, the outcome of our efforts was one that we had all hoped and prayed would not happen.”
Roque’s body was discovered later that night in a dumpster adjacent to the single soldier’s quarters on the installation, Beck said.
Roque served as a handler with the K9 detachment from the 5th Engineer Battalion. She enlisted in the Army in 2020 and attended basic training at the Missouri base.
Officials did not give details on the timeline of the events leading up to Roque’s death, including information about whether she was wearing civilian clothing or her Army uniform because it remains an “active investigation.” They also declined to answer questions about the cause or manner of Roque’s death.
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The base has brought in forensic lab technicians to process the scene and personnel from other field offices to increase manpower for the investigation, officials said.
“Efforts are made to make sure this individual does not pose any threat to the base or the community,” Beck said. “We are confident that there is no threat to the community or base personnel at this point.”
Officials declined to give more details on the person of interest.
“We are confident that those responsible for the death of Sgt. Roque will be brought to justice,” Beck said and encouraged those with information on the case to reach out to the Army Criminal Investigation Division which is leading the inquiry.
UPDATE: 10/24/2024 4:20 p.m. This article has been updated to reflect that an arrest was made of a ‘person of interest’ to the case.
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