Reward increased for information to help find missing Ft. Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen
KILLEEN, Texas - The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command has increased the award amount from $15,000 to $25,000 for credible information to help find missing Fort Hood soldier Pfc. Vanessa Guillen.
20-year-old Guillen was last seen April 22 between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Regimental Engineer Squadron Headquarters, 3rd Cavalry Regiment on Fort Hood, Texas and has not been heard from since. Her car keys, barracks room key, identification card, and wallet were later found in the armory room where she was working earlier in the day. She was last seen in the parking lot wearing a black t-shirt and purple fitness-type pants.
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Officials say Guillen is originally from Houston and an avid runner. She's described as being of Hispanic descent, five feet, two inches tall, 126 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Her Military Occupational Specialty is a 91F, Small Arms/Artillery Repairer.
In a news release, spokesman for Army CID Chris Grey says, "We are completely committed to finding Vanessa and aggressively going after every single piece of credible information and every lead in this investigation. We will not stop until we find Vanessa."
Grey says that more than 150 people have been interviewed and that they are working closely with multiple law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Belton Police Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
"We have also partnered with Texas EquuSearch and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to tap into their resources as well," Grey says. "We have participated in ground and air searches on Fort Hood and throughout the Central Texas region."
Persons with information can contact Army CID Special Agents at 254-287-2722 or the Military Police Desk at 254-288-1170. They can also anonymously submit information at https://www.cid.army.mil/report-a-crime.html.
RELATED: Fort Hood asking for public's help in locating missing soldier
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.
The family of Gullen recently asked for a change in investigators and would like the FBI and not Army CID to take the lead. The family largely points its distrust of Army investigators to the 2019 disappearance of then 23-year-old Gregory Wedel-Morales.
Missing Fort Hood soldier Pfc. Vanessa Guillen’s family asks for help
The family of Vanessa Guillen, the Fort Hood soldier who has been missing since April 22, held a press conference on June 10 asking for the public to help in their search for Vanessa and for full transparency from the federal government.
The Army CID news release addresses that and other allegations it says have been circulated in the media and on social media.
Officials say "at this point, investigators have no credible information or report that Guillen was sexually assaulted or that this case is in any way connected to the investigation into the disappearance of PV2 Gregory Wedel-Morales, who was last seen on the night of Aug. 19, 2019 while driving his car in Killeen, Texas."
RELATED: Search for missing Fort Hood soldier remains ‘open and active’ 1 month later, Army says
Guillen's disappearance has begun getting national attention. Actress Salma Hayek recently posted on her Instagram about Guillen.
The Instagram account that Hayek tagged in her post has close to 33,000 followers as of June 15.