U.S. Army confirms death of Fort Drum soldier

The U.S. Army confirmed on Sunday the death of a 20-year-old soldier who went missing from Fort Drum in upstate New York last week, noting that foul play is suspected.

The U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Command said Sunday in a statement that Cpl. Hayden Allen Harris was found dead after last being heard from between 8 p.m. Thursday and 6:30 a.m. Friday. The release said law enforcement officials suspect foul play but did not give additional details. 

The New York Times reported that Harris’ body was found in a remote part of northern New Jersey and that local authorities said a fellow soldier was arrested in connection with his death. 

Officials said Harris was meeting someone in Watertown, N.Y., “for some type of vehicle transaction” and noted the 2016 Ford Mustang Coupe he was reportedly driving has been found. 

“We are working very closely with several law enforcement agencies, to include Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Bryam Township Police Department on this investigation,” Chris Grey, a spokesman for Army CID, said in the announcement. “We greatly appreciate their work on this ongoing case.”

Harris, who was posthumously promoted to corporal, was from Guys, Tenn., and joined the Army in March 2019. He trained at Fort Benning in Georgia, before heading to Fort Drum in July 2019. 

Brig. Gen. Brett Funck, the acting senior commander of the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum, said in a release on Sunday, “We are devastated.”

“It was well known here that Corporal Harris was a great Soldier, and as we share our grief with his friends and Family, I hear again and again how he was also – and most importantly – a really wonderful, caring person,” Funck said. “His death is a tremendous loss for his loved ones, this Division and our nation.”

Harris had received two Army Achievement Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. He was posthumously given the Army Commendation Medal.