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Fort Leonard Wood is 'safe place' says Major General after killing, arrest on base

“I take this personally,” said Major General Christopher Beck. “I hold very dear that I’m in charge of what happens at this installation.”

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Despite the killing of an Army sergeant on the base of Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, the installation remains “a safe place to live and work,” said Major General Christopher Beck during a press briefing Friday.

23-year-old Sergeant Sarah Roque was found dead inside of a dumpster on the base after being reported missing on October 21. Beck said that her death occurred on October 20.

Army Specialist Wooster Rancy, 21, is facing court martial charges of the murder of Roque.

Major General Beck was not able to give many details on what the investigation has unearthed to this point but he did confirm that the two soldiers were in the same battalion, a large one that included a few hundred soldiers.

Beck said that the base was safe and had increased some patrols. He said that the base in general and he and the other leaders at the base had been impacted by Roque’s death.

“I take this personally,” he said. “I hold very dear that I’m in charge of what happens at this installation.”

“She was a sister, a warrior and a battle buddy,” said Sergeant Major Jorge Arzabala in describing Roque, an Indiana native who enlisted in the Army in 2020.

Roque was reported missing on Oct. 20 when she did not report for her unit's morning formation. Military Police Investigations issued a "Be on the Lookout" or BOLO advisory that evening. After a search by the Army and nearby law enforcement personnel, her body was located inside a dumpster near the single soldiers' quarters at Fort Leonard Wood.

She was a bridge crew member, serving as a Mine Dog Handler with the K9 Detachment, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, the Army said in a press release.

Roque’s awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.

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