OAN Staff James Meyers
8:18am – Monday, March 31, 2025
After a six-day search, Lithuanian officials announced they had taken four US soldiers to retrieve missing US armored vehicles, but there is no information yet on where they are.
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“The armored vehicle was pulled onto land at 4:40am. The towing operation is complete. Lithuanian military police and US investigators continue their work,” Defense Minister Dobil Shakarien said in a Facebook post Monday morning.
Soldiers were conducting training exercises at the massive Silvestra Zenestras Souska training ground in the town of Pablad when they and their vehicles were reported missing early Tuesday morning, the US military said.
“Until investigators get more details, we need to stay calm and focused, keeping in mind the sensitivity of the situation and the concerns of the soldier's family,” Shakarien posted on Facebook.
She also told reporters that the first discoveries of the four soldiers will be first reported by the US military.
This said that a US soldier has died last week after NATO had to withdraw their statement.
Soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd The infantry divisions were tactical training when they went missing.
During the six-day search, hundreds of Lithuanian and US soldiers and rescuers participated to find soldiers through forest and marsh terrain around Pablad, just six miles from the border with Belarus.
The M88 Hercules armored vehicle was found submerged in 15 feet of water on Wednesday.
A major recovery effort has begun, but “the water, thick mud and soft ground around the site have complicated recovery efforts and special equipment is required to drain water from the sides and stabilize the ground,” the Army said.
In a statement Friday, U.S. Army and African officials said “experts on high-capacity slurry pumps, cranes, over 30 tonnes of gravel, and subject matter experts in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are part of the assets that arrived on the scene to help access the M88.”
“This will be long and difficult, but it's an operation, but we are absolutely committed to bringing our soldiers home,” Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division, said in a statement Friday.
Lithuania is known for hosting more than 1,000 US troops for training on a spin-based basis.
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