A soldier stationed in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, has been charged with murder in the death of a sergeant whose body was found in a dumpster at the base, officials said.
Spc. Wooster Rancy, 21, of the 5th Engineer Battalion, is also charged with obstructing justice in connection to the death of Sgt. Sarah Roque, 23, the Army said Thursday.
Roque, who was killed Oct. 20, was found in a dumpster near single soldier housing, officials said.
Rancy is in pretrial confinement awaiting a preliminary hearing, officials said.
The relationship between Rancy and Roque, if any, was not clear. Officials said at a news conference Friday that the two were in the same battalion.
Attempts to reach Rancy’s family were unsuccessful.
Roque's relatives also could not be reached for comment.
Roque was reported missing after she failed to show up for her unit’s morning formation on Oct. 21. Her body was found hours later, authorities have said.
Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck, commanding general of the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood, said at a news conference this month that the community at the base was “devastated.”
Beck described Roque as a leader who served with “honor and distinction."
“This is something we never want to happen, we never want for the family to have to endure or the unit to have to endure,” he said.
Roque, of Ligonier, Indiana, enlisted in 2020 and was decorated, receiving the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the Army Service Ribbon, officials said.
She was assigned to the 5th Engineer Battalion as a bridge crewmember and mine dog handler with the K9 detachment, the Army said.
Rancy, who joined the Army in 2022 and attended basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood, is from Miami, officials said.
He is a combat engineer with the 509th Clearance Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, according to the Army.
