Authorities said one person was in custody and another person of interest is dead in connection to the disappearance to Fort Hood, Texas, soldier Vanessa Guillen.
A person wanted in connection to the case died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Killeen Police Department in a news release on Wednesday.
“During the course of the investigation, information was provided on the location of the suspect. The suspect was located walking in the 4700 block of East Rancier Avenue and as officers attempted to make contact with the suspect, the suspect produced a weapon and committed suicide by shooting himself. The suspect was pronounced deceased at 1:17 a.m. by Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin at the scene,” the news release said.
The identity of the person was not revealed. He was described as an active-duty soldier by officials.
The U.S. Army told local news outlets that another suspect in the case is the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier. She is currently in custody at the Bell County jail and is awaiting charges, according to Click2Houston and ABC13.
The second suspect’s identity was not disclosed.
“We have made significant progress in this tragic situation and are doing everything possible to get to the truth and bring answers to the family of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen,” said Chris Grey, the spokesman for the U.S. Army.
Several law enforcement agencies are still attempting to determine the identity of human remains found near the Leon River this week. Guillen’s family said they believe the remains belong to the soldier.
“We don’t want just attention. We want action. We want answers,” Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) said at a news conference in June, The Associated Press reported. “We’ve got to remember that this is a family that is hurting.”
Texas EquuSearch founder Tim Miller, who was helping look for Guillen, told news outlets that “the search for Vanessa is now over.”
Guillen, 20, was last seen in April in the parking lot of Fort Hood’s Regimental Engineer Squadron Headquarters.
“There is still a lot of investigative work to be done and we ask for the public and media’s patience,” Grey told news outlets. “There are obviously pieces of information and evidence that cannot be shared with the public during an active criminal investigation. Doing so can seriously jeopardize the charging and successful prosecution of individuals. When important investigative information is prematurely released, criminals can and will destroy evidence, conspire to change their stories, build false alibis, etc.”
