Army Says Teen's Fort Lewis Death May Be Drug Related

Feb. 18, 2009— -- The Army said today that the death of a 16-year-old girl found at the Fort Lewis Army barracks in Washington state over the weekend may be drug related, the latest black mark for the Army's third-largest base following a string of serious criminal allegations against its soldiers.

While the Army has refused to release the girl's name, posters on the MySpace page of a teen from nearby Tacoma, Wash., named Leah King, claiming to be King's family members, have identified her as the girl who was found dead.

Amid numerous posts offering condolences on King's MySpace page, a poster using the name Heather writes, "just so everyone knows, we have very few details about what happened to Leah. But what we know, we are not supposed to share just yet."

"There will be a service for Leah, but the date is unclear. ... Thank you all for your thoughts and condolences."

The post, attributed to "Leah's Family," also requests that other family members and friends not make comments to the media.

ABC News cannot independently confirm the claims made on the MySpace page.

The Army's Criminal Investigation Command, which is leading the investigation, said today that the girl's death could be drug related.

Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek told ABCNews.com Tuesday that two 16-year-old girls were found around 3:30 a.m. Sunday in one of the barracks. One was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was hospitalized in stable condition at the nearby Madigan Army Medical Center after receiving "emergency care."

"There was no outward signs of physical trauma to either of the girls," Piek said.

An autopsy was performed on the girl's body Monday by the office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, Piek said, but toxicology tests could take weeks to come back.

"I would hope it would be sooner than that so we can make it known" what happened, he said.

In the "About me" portion of her MySpace page, King had posted a personal statement that read: "I'm Leah. I'm annoying. rude. A bitch. stupid. A slut. A nobody. and any other label there is."

Her relationship status says "single," but local media reports have said she was dating a soldier based at Fort Lewis.

No Arrests Made

So far, the Army has been tight-lipped about the night's events, saying only that the girls' presence was noticed by the on-duty staff member assigned to that barrack, who immediately called 911.

One soldier, described as being "allegedly acquainted" with the girls, had been questioned by military officials, Piek said, but no arrests have been made and no further information about the soldier is being released.

"From what we understand, there's no military or DOD [Department of Defense] affiliation," Piek said of the girls. "They're not related to anybody or have any affiliation with anybody on post."

Like all Army bases, Fort Lewis keeps close tabs on who enters the property. Anyone with DOD identification, including soldiers and employees, can sponsor a civilian to visit the post so long as that civilian provides a photo ID.

But two former soldiers told ABC News Seattle affiliate KOMO-TV it isn't difficult to sneak visitors onto the base and said the barracks have been known to draw curious young girls.

"It can certainly be attractive, an attractive environment with a bunch of soldiers who are older and have access to alcohol and drugs oftentimes," said Seth Manzel, who spent four years as a soldier, often working guard duty on the base.

Manzel told KOMO that the effects of drugs and alcohol, along with the overwhelming stress of having been deployed to war zones and the mental toll that can take, can make men do things they shouldn't.

"There were times when I walked in on things that were pretty atrocious. At one point a girl got branded. She was a willing participant, but she was very drunk and not in a position to make that decision," he said.

Piek said Army investigators were looking into how the girls involved in Sunday's incident got on base and whether there was any record of their arrival. The Army is not releasing or confirming the girls' names or any identifying information, citing their ages and civilian status.

Piek said they were both from the south Puget Sound area, where Fort Lewis is located.

ABC News Seattle affiliate KOMO reported that Leah had been enrolled at an area high school for her freshman year but dropped out to take online courses in the fall before re-enrolling in the school this month.

A String of Violent Incidents

The teenager's death was just the latest unsavory headline connected with Fort Lewis and its soldiers.

The last several months have seen a number of Fort Lewis-based military personnel charged with serious, violent crimes, including several incidents of alleged assault, a homicide investigation involving a sergeant at the base and another awaiting trial on charges of kidnapping, torture and rape.

Piek said military officials are well aware of the legal troubles involving soldiers at Fort Lewis.

"That's actually something the command is taking a look at right now," he said.

Accusations of Rape, Assault, Robbery at Fort Lewis

The Vancouver Columbian reported this week that a 23-year-old Fort Lewis soldier was arrested on Driving Under the Influence and assault charges after a road rage incident over the weekend. And according to various Seattle-area media reports, three Fort Lewis-based soldiers were arrested on assault and robbery charges in recent weeks in connection with two incidents last month when University of Washington students were robbed at gunpoint and assaulted.

Last month, Fort Lewis Sgt. Nathan Ryan Smith, 29, was charged with kidnapping, raping and torturing two women after he was reported AWOL.

According to a probable cause statement from Pierce County prosecutors, after Smith allegedly raped one woman he told her, "I have killed several people in Iraq. I'm crazy in the head, and if I get caught by police I will come looking for you and kill you."

The News Tribune in Tacoma reported that he is now being held on a $2 million bond and has pleaded not guilty.

And in November, a sergeant was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of his friend after a day of drinking. The medical examiner's office ruled the death a homicide, according to the News Tribune.

Dr. Fred Sautter, director of the family mental health program at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System in New Orleans, said soldiers sometimes face a bevy of trickledown problems stemming from their military service.

Post-traumatic stress disorder -- long flagged as one of the most pressing problems for soldiers deployed as part of the war on terror -- can cause a state of "hyper arousal" that makes solders irritable, startle easily and get "really revved up," according to Sautter.

But while PTSD may explain certain emotional and even violent outbursts, it may not fit in the most recent incident.

"Having a 16-year-old girl in the barracks doesn't really fit," Sautter said. "PTSD doesn't make you have young girls in the barracks."

Battling a Known Demon

Substance abuse resulting from PTSD can be an issue for military members returning from combat.

Sautter said that about 17 percent of soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan show symptoms of PTSD. And data shows that, of those people, 65 to 70 percent may develop substance abuse problems.

"You have people who are really agitated and hyper vigilant and really on an adrenaline high," Sautter said. Drugs and alcohol are often ways for soldiers to calm down or control that high.

But the drugs then cause a whole new set of problems, including poor judgment and impulsivity.

Pentagon-based Army spokesman Lt. Colonel Nathan Banks told ABCNews.com that arrests and convictions of Army soldiers aren't broken down by base, and no one place is dubbed a "problem child."

"We could possibly have some issues at other installations. Some just stand out more than others," he said.

Banks said the Army's thoughts and prayers are with the family of the teenage girls.

"Any incident that is serious, we are aware of it and we are very concerned," he said.

Fort Lewis is currently home to about 30,000 soldiers with another 4,000 deployed, Piek said, mostly to Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It's very unfortunate that we have some soldiers who are doing things like that out in the community because it sheds a bad light on the much larger community," Piek said of the many more men and women who take the Army's moral code very seriously. "It's still not indicative of the majority that are serving."

And the communities that surround the base, he said, expect better from America's soldiers.

The Associated Press and ABC News Research's Suzanne Bernard contributed to this story.