Vanessa Guillen's Disappearance: Remains Found & Suspect Reportedly Kills Himself When Confronted By Cops

More details have come out in the confusing case of Vanessa Guillen‘s disappearance.

For those who don’t know, the 20-year-old private first class (Pfc.) soldier on Fort Hood’s US Army base disappeared on April 22. She was last seen in the parking lot of her squadron’s headquarters around 12 p.m. that day — and although her car keys, barracks ID card, and wallet were located in an armory room where she was repairing artillery, the woman and her phone vanished without a trace.

Vanessa’s family suspects foul play in the case because the soldier (pictured above) previously told them she was being sexually harassed and feared retaliation. So the Guillens hired an attorney to look into the disappearance, and now they suspect foul play from Fort Hood itself.

Natalie Khawam, the Guillen family’s attorney, previously told Inside Edition:

“The facts aren’t good. I don’t like them. There were a few incidents where she [Vanessa] had told her colleagues, her friends, her family about being sexually harassed but she was afraid to report it. How does someone disappear on a base that has more protection and safeguards than anyone else on the planet?”

The case became even more perplexing this week when a soldier who was suspected in Vanessa’s disappearance killed himself after officers confronted him in Killeen, Texas.

According to US Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID), US Marshals, Killeen police, and the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force found the unidentified soldier, who had left his Fort Hood post following Vanessa’s disappearance, early Wednesday.

Officials reportedly confronted the suspect walking along a commercial and residential thoroughfare a few miles from the base on the northeast side of the city. The Killeen Police Department explained in a news release:

“As officers attempted to make contact with the suspect, the suspect displayed a weapon and discharged it toward himself. The suspect succumbed from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

Wow… why would someone do such a thing?

That’s exactly what Vanessa’s sister, Mayra, wants to know. During a news conference on Wednesday, Mayra told press she had met the soldier suspected in the disappearance of her sister, sharing:

“When I first went up to that base, that subject, I met him, not knowing that he had something to do with it. I felt something was telling me that he did something, and I wasn’t wrong apparently. And apparently now, he kills himself. Why? I don’t know… But whoever is responsible has to pay, and we demand a congressional investigation.”

Many questions remain unanswered, but officials seem to have at least figured out one part of the mystery: the location of Vanessa’s body. Per reports, investigators discovered the partial remains of a body near Leon River in Bell County, where Killeen is located, on Tuesday.

Although authorities have yet to identify them, Guillen’s family and Tim Miller — founder of non-profit search and rescue organization Texas EquuSearch — believe the remains, found in a “shallow grave,” belong to Vanessa.

U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has released a statement on partial remains found by their investigators today. Read it here: https://t.co/LbhNcWryhg #FortHood #USArmy #VanessaGuillen #FindVanessaGuillen

— Fort Hood (@forthood) June 30, 2020

Horrifyingly enough, the remains were found just 26 miles from the site where, on June 19, officials found the body of Pvt. 2nd Class Gregory Wedel-Morales, who went missing last year while driving in Killeen. It’s not clear whether there’s a link between Guillen and Wedel-Morales, but Army officials say there is “no credible information” connecting the cases.

While the lead suspect in Vanessa’s case may have killed himself, officials have already arrested another civilian suspect in connection with Guillen’s disappearance. This suspect, who has not been identified, is the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier; she’s currently in Bell County Jail waiting for authorities to press charges. CID spokesman Chris Grey said:

“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.”

We’ll keep you updated as this story develops.

[Image via ABC News]