A Fort Hood soldier declared AWOL last week was located Tuesday in Louisiana, where he was arrested after a high-speed chase.
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U.S. Army Pfc. Edward Patrick Casteel, 28, was arrested in Lincoln Parish, La., for allegedly speeding, driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest by flight, KWTX reported. He remained in the custody of the Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Department as of Tuesday and was held in lieu of $3,500 bond, according to online records.
Casteel was traveling in a red Chevy Cobalt on Interstate 20 at 92 mph when deputies first tried to pull him over, Fox 8 reported, citing the arrest affidavit. He reportedly refused to stop initially and deputies were forced to box him in with the help of a Ruston police officer.
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When asked why he would not stop, deputies said Casteel did not give a consistent answer. Fort Hood said Casteel had been missing since Oct. 7, when he was last seen leaving the base alone around midnight and did not report for duty the next morning.
“When he did not report for duty, the unit immediately began a search of the unit area, including his barracks room and unit parking lots, and has been in constant contact with his family members and friends in an attempt to locate him,” the post said.
Fort Hood, a U.S. Army base outside of Killeen, Texas, has been the center of controversy as a series of soldiers went missing or were found dead in recent months.
The base was first thrust into the national spotlight when 20-year-old Pfc. Vanessa Guillén was bludgeoned to death and dismembered by a fellow soldier in an armory room. She told her family she was being sexually harassed before going missing.
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A congressional investigation launched in September is looking into the string of deaths and the command culture at the base.