A soldier stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, has been charged with murder in the death of a sergeant whose body was found in a dumpster on the base, officials said.
Spc. Wooster Rancy, 21, of the 5th Engineer Battalion, also faces charges of obstructing justice in connection with the death of Sgt. Sarah Roque, 23, the Army said Thursday.
Roque, who was killed Oct. 20, was found in a dumpster at a single-occupancy housing unit, officials said.
Rancy is in pretrial detention pending a preliminary hearing, officials said.
The relationship between Rancy and Roque, if any, was unclear.
An army official declined to answer the question Thursday afternoon. Attempts to contact Rancy’s family were unsuccessful.
Roque’s family members 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 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 base community was “devastated.”
Beck described Roque as a leader who served with “honor and distinction.”
“This is something we never want to happen, we don’t want the family to have to go through this or the unit to have to go through this,” 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 crew member and a mine dog handler with the K9 detachment, the Army said.
Rancy, who joined the Army in 2022 and completed basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood, is a native of Miami, officials said.
The Army said he is a combat engineer with the 509th combat engineer, 5th Engineer Battalion.