A FORT Hood soldier went missing on Wednesday only days after his marriage as his family claims there was foul play involved in his disappearance.
Abram Salas II, 21, did not report for work on June 23, and attempts to contact him through law enforcement, his chain of command, and family has been unsuccessful.
In a press release issued on Saturday, Fort Hood officials said that it is believed Salas left the base of his own accord but for unknown reasons.
The statement added that it is believed he is in the San Antonio area.
Yet the family of the El Paso native claims that his disappearance is connected to his marriage only five days before.
The family told KWTX that it has not met his wife but that she is significantly older than the soldier.
It is reported that he had not told anyone about the woman, who he only met two weeks prior, and the family learned of the marriage through social media.
The family also claimed that Salas had moved out of military barracks two weeks before his disappearance when they suspect he met his wife.
“He got married and everybody found out about it on social media, and no one knew about this person before,” his aunt Teresa Kiphen told KWTX.
The family has begged for further information as Salas' mother and father traveled on Sunday from their home in El Paso to the base in Killeen.
“Please please please wherever you are call somebody in the family please,” said Salas’ uncle Jamie Miranda.
“And if anybody knows anything please just say something.”
It comes after the high-profile disappearance of Fort hood soldier Vanessa Guillén in 2020, whose body was later found dismembered and buried under concrete.
Federal and military investigators said Guillén was killed and dismembered by fellow soldier Aaron David Robinson, 20.
Robinson killed himself as authorities tried to arrest him.
Congress began investigating the mysterious deaths, disappearances, and sexual assaults at Fort Hood in September after they were highlighted by Guillén’s murder.
Two other Navajo soldiers died at the base after Guillén's disappearance.
Army Specialist Miguel Yazzie died on July 2 and Private Carlton Chee died after collapsing during a training exercise on September 2.
Yazzie and Chee mark the 27th and 28th deaths at Fort Hood last year alone.
"There has been 28 soldiers who have lost their lives on the base and I'm sure the families want to know whats going on and happening on the base," said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.
The congressional probe was headed by Democratic Representatives Stephen Lynch and Jackie Speier, who both chair the Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, respectively.
The two subcommittees’ investigations focused on whether the recent deaths “may be symptomatic of underlying leadership, discipline and morale deficiencies throughout the chain-of-command."
The representatives vowed to release the probe’s findings to the families of the deceased soldiers “who may have been failed by a military system and culture that was ultimately responsible for their care and protection."
Fort Hood has more than 60,000 people including close to 37,000 service members.
Salas is described as Hispanic, about 5-feet-6 tall, and has black hair and brown eyes.
The Army said he may be driving a four-door, white Dodge Dart with a Texas license plate NFP-2796.
If you see Salas or have information regarding his whereabouts, contact the military police desk at (254) 288-1131.
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