Found Deceased TX - PFC Vanessa Guillen, 20, Fort Hood military base, items left behind, 22 Apr 2020

[California Sunset]

I highly doubt it. It sounds like he was being kicked out, and may not have been in a good place.

If we were talking about two missing females, then I’d be more inclined to believe some sort of connection.

You see this as 'sounding like he was getting kicked out' while I saw it as his End of Time in Service. You are apparently much better at this sort of thing than I am. I thought the guy met with an accident and his vehicle just hasn't been located.

 

[MassGuy]

You see this as 'sounding like he was getting kicked out' while I saw it as his End of Time in Service. You are apparently much better at this sort of thing than I am. I thought the guy met with an accident and his vehicle just hasn't been located.

He was a private at the time, which combined with the wording, made me think he wasn’t EASing.

 

[California Sunset]

He was a private at the time, which combined with the wording, made me think he wasn’t EASing.

I knew a guy in the army that was always a private. He kept getting busted. I don't know how long he was in, but he was in at least two years and was a private the whole time. Every time he got promoted, he got busted. (reduced in rank to those that don't know.) Now that I think about it, someone else in his chain of command discussed this with me, and that's how I knew. I asked about it.

 

[California Sunset]

After Soldier Vanishes From Fort Hood, Army Offers $15,000 Reward For Information

SABBM:

"Individuals are strongly encouraged to come forward if they have credible information to help locate Guillen," the release reads. "People wishing to remain anonymous will be honored to the degree allowable under the law and the information will be held in the strictest confidence allowable."
_____________________

"Strongly encouraged to come forward..."

Translation: If you value your own freedom and/or hide, you'd better start squawking.

This language doesn't sound like they're grasping at straws by offering this reward $$$.

Sounds to me like the CID firmly believes that someone out there knows something.

JMO.

The longer this goes on, the worse it is for her. Someone out there does know something. There's always someone that knows something, but sometimes the person isn't aware of the something they know. Sometimes it takes a combination of information from different people before things get figured out. That's what everyone is doing here right now.
I get angry with myself sometimes because it takes so long 'for the light bulb to come on' with me. All my training, all my experience, all my knowledge and I still don't automatically go for the worst case scenario.

 

[California Sunset]

Is the entire perimeter of Fort Hood fenced, or walled, or what, does anyone know?

I'm just wondering in practical terms how difficult it would be to get on and/or off the base on foot vs. in a vehicle.

JMO.

Fort Ord was a pretty big base too. They had a problem with poachers. I'd suppose the poachers didn't get access through a gate.
One night, an MP started to call in, he'd apparently pulled a car over or come across the car. All he said was something like 'right now I'm looking down the barrel of a rifle'. Well, they called everyone in to see who was missing and then they went looking for him. They beat him really bad and left him for dead. He recovered. When I heard about this, those poachers hadn't been caught, and they did more than poach.
I say this because I believe if it can happen on one base, it can happen on another, especially one as huge as Ft. Hood. Whether Ft. Hood has poachers or not, there are likely ways in and out of that base that aren't supposed to be accessed.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Done for tonight. Not all the way caught up but within 3 articles caught up!
Can't keep my eyes open, will finish tomorrow.

Vanessa Guillen Case Archive:
Vanessa Guillen -TX- by amanda reckonwith

Cell phone users, try this and scroll:
Vanessa Guillen

 

[California Sunset]

I read this also. Due to Covid-19, no guards, just card readers. If one car enters the base using the proper ID/card reader, could one or two more cars slide in behind and get through? Same question with exiting the base. Is a card even needed to exit?

Could someone walk in since there isn't a guard? I don't understand. They could have a guard there in the little shack, just watching but not interacting with people. That would prevent at least some of this activity.

 

[MissUnderstood]

The phone data is going to be helpful I’m sure.
Back a few pages there was a description of the housing being a forty minute drive and some what isolated. Could she have been running on the roads and been hit by a vehicle? Driver could have put her in the car in a panic and taken her somewhere and turned off her phone. That could account for any pings close by.
What would the ramifications be for someone on base speeding or driving reckless and hitting a pedestrian? Would it be enough to try cover up and keep your record clean?
MOO

 

[MrsWatson]

Pure speculation on my part, but could Vanessa have indicated to her sister that there was someone she was uncomfortable with or afraid of and that caused her sister to raise the alarm so quickly?

 

[Ajs1004]

Pure speculation on my part, but could Vanessa have indicated to her sister that there was someone she was uncomfortable with or afraid of and that caused her sister to raise the alarm so quickly?

I was wondering the same thing. Not military but my sister is former Navy and my sister in law is in the Coast Guard. You wouldn’t believe how much harassment they got from other people in the military. And it’s not just men.

 

[watergirl62]

Attached maps:

• General map of FH with gate locations. I have highlighted the 3rd Cavalry Regiment HQ
• Aerial imagery of 3CR HQ

If you think she might have been taken off base, the closest gates are:
Fort Hood Road gate
Mayborn gate
East Range gate
Warrior Way gate

Gate locations and hours

 

[hey-Debbie]

Could someone walk in since there isn't a guard? I don't understand. They could have a guard there in the little shack, just watching but not interacting with people. That would prevent at least some of this activity.

I don't get this either. I'm not so sure there's no guards at the gates. Maybe they are just using this card reader system so they guards don't have to be exposed to humans. I'd think they'd have lots of gates shut down right now with limited people going on base. They probably only have a few main gates open and gates open near the dorm areas and base housing areas if manning is low. I don't know. It's hard for me to wrap me head around this system as it does pose all kinds of risks.

My husband works on a small Coast Guard base and they actually don't have a guard now, but there's only one entrance in and out. They also have a gate that slides open and closes when you go in and out. I'm sure Ft. Hood does not have that. Each person has to wait until the gate closes behind them when they leave and come in and go out. It's easier to patrol when the base is tiny but a base as large as Ft. Hood no way. That would be the biggest security risk ever because of the amount of people including civilians that come and go through that base.

 

[GordianKnot]

"Something isn't right" | Missing Fort Hood solider's sister speaks about disappearance

Snipped from article:

6 News reached out to the Army Criminal Investigation Division and they said special agents get involved when someone disappears and there are unusual or suspicious circumstances involved.

"It’s strange the way she vanished,” Guillen said. “It’s unbelievable because all her stuff was there. She was at work." <snip>

"She was a family-oriented girl,” Guillen said. "She would come home instead of going to party in nearby cities like Austin or Dallas. It would be easier for her choose another route, but no, she would come home every weekend to us."
______________________

Noting sister's use of past tense when speaking about VG.

Another ominous sign.

JMO.

 

[hey-Debbie]

Attached maps:

• General map of FH with gate locations. I have highlighted the 3rd Cavalry Regiment HQ
• Aerial imagery of 3CR HQ

If you think she might have been taken off base, the closest gates are:
Fort Hood Road gate
Mayborn gate
East Range gate
Warrior Way gate

Gate locations and hours

So we don't know where the armory is that she worked at ---nor should normal human beings have that information or be able to find it on an open map --- We need to protect the security of our bases from security risks to everyone on that base ---

But however we know she was last seen at the parking lot between Hell on Wheels Blvd and Old Ironsides Ave. I'm wondering if she normally parks there for work. It looks like the areas around there have parking spaces. This parking lot looks like it would be used as an overflow parking lot or a parking lot where people would park for commuting. We know the base is basically shut down so there wouldn't be a lot of cars parked for the need of overflow parking. Did she park in that lot in order to meet someone and catch a ride. Remember her going running is just a rumor because of the type of clothes she was wearing. Maybe she was meeting up with someone to go on a walk or take a hike. There's been a lot of suggestion regarding the BLORA and Ft. Hood rec area which would make perfect sense for someone to go for a hike or walk or just to get out in nature when everyone has been closed up in the dorms.

 

[GordianKnot]

I was doing some online searches r/t security cameras and came across this older article from 2014.
Obviously, it's not about VG, but I found the info interesting as it may prove to be relevant:

Shootings at military bases shake sense of security

SABBM:

In the wake of this week’s deadly rampage at the Washington Navy Yard, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the Pentagon to review security at all U.S. defense installations worldwide and examine the granting of security clearances that allow access to them. <snip>

Then, on Monday, Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old former Navy reservist who held a security clearance as an information technology employee at a defense company, used a valid pass to get into the Washington Navy Yard and killed 12 people before dying in a gun battle with police.

The attack raised questions about the adequacy of the background checks done on government contractors who hold security clearances.

Many of the security improvements adopted after 9/11 and Fort Hood were created largely with terrorism in mind, not unstable individuals with no apparent political agenda. Those threats can be more difficult to detect.

Daly, who directs the U.S. Naval Institute in Annapolis, Md., said the military needs to review its procedures for vetting people for access to installations. <snip>

“Once you’re inside that hardened line of defense, that is the most difficult scenario,” he said. “We need to look at how these clearances are granted to contractors and subcontractors and to make sure once someone is granted clearance, that we come back and check again.”

 

[Falling Down]

Bottom line re: base security is each one has different protocols. I served at Lejeune and Camp Hansen, but trained and visited a bunch of other bases. Fort Pickett was an "open" base years ago, you could travel on and off, to include all of the training and bivouac areas and the airfield, without going through security barriers. Pickett is basically a training base, for active duty, resereve, and NG troops, as well as state of VA and maybe local LE.

Some bases are locked down much tighter than others, and some have no security barriers at all.

JMO

 

[Ajs1004]

So we don't know where the armory is that she worked at ---nor should normal human beings have that information or be able to find it on an open map --- We need to protect the security of our bases from security risks to everyone on that base ---

But however we know she was last seen at the parking lot between Hell on Wheels Blvd and Old Ironsides Ave. I'm wondering if she normally parks there for work. It looks like the areas around there have parking spaces. This parking lot looks like it would be used as an overflow parking lot or a parking lot where people would park for commuting. We know the base is basically shut down so there wouldn't be a lot of cars parked for the need of overflow parking. Did she park in that lot in order to meet someone and catch a ride. Remember her going running is just a rumor because of the type of clothes she was wearing. Maybe she was meeting up with someone to go on a walk or take a hike. There's been a lot of suggestion regarding the BLORA and Ft. Hood rec area which would make perfect sense for someone to go for a hike or walk or just to get out in nature when everyone has been closed up in the dorms.

BLORA actually makes sense because it’s in Belton and that’s where her phone last pinged at.

 

[Mind your biscuits]

111 Corps and Fort Hood FB page has some gate info for April 29th (not the day she went missing) and names all of the gates and closings for anyone interested. It's public. I couldn't get it to link.

 

[MassGuy]

Exclusive: Missing soldier was ‘happier than ever,’ then mysteriously vanishes, sister says as desperate search continues

On “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,” airing Wednesday on Fox Nation and Sirius XM, Grace speaks with Guillen’s sister, Mayra, as the desperate search continues.

“The last time we spoke was on Tuesday afternoon,” Guillen’s sister, Mayra Guillen, told Nancy Grace. “Her boyfriend was the last one to speak to her on Wednesday before going into work. She was happier than ever…Everything was completely fine.”

Guillen’s boyfriend contacted Mayra at around noon on Wednesday and said that Guillen’s iPhone messages were not being read.

Grace: “The boyfriend sends her a text, I’m assuming, at around lunchtime the day she disappears and it was, quote, ‘not delivered’? Was that a problem with his phone? Because when I get that I think it’s my phone…You’re saying there was a problem on her iPhone?

Mayra: “Yes…Immediately I called (my sister) and immediately it goes straight to voicemail.”

Grace: “What time was that?”

Mayra: “Between 12 and 1.”

Grace: “Did you try to text her, Mayra?”

Mayra: “Yes, the messages wouldn’t deliver.”

It’s unclear whether Guillen left the base, but medicolegal death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan said had she left, it should have been captured by security footage.

“I’m a former soldier and Fort Hood, right now, in the current state of affairs we are in right now, this post is essentially locked down. I want to know who had access to her. Was there electronic access to get in and off of the post? I have to think that there would be CCTV, there would be an electronic footprint relative to access.”

 

[Hatfield]

I was wondering the same thing. Not military but my sister is former Navy and my sister in law is in the Coast Guard. You wouldn’t believe how much harassment they got from other people in the military. And it’s not just men.

This is a good point because a lot of us do feel if there was foul play then it had to be someone familiar with the base or even living on or near the base and could very well be a fellow military person.

It was not too awful long ago where I remember news about females being allowed to participate in actual combat maneuvers. I remember the news media covering it a lot at the time. There was a lot of people against it mainly due to concerns about safety of the female soldier if they were captured and other concerns about safety of the group as a whole.

Its so common now to have females in the military that I would have hoped there is not much resentment from fellow military personnel but like you are describing, that resentment probably still exists for some, and that could have created some enemies that she had, even if she was not aware that some resented her being there.