Last US soldier missing in Lithuania found dead

The U.S. military announced Tuesday that the last of the four U.S. soldiers missing in Lithuania has been found dead.

The other three bodies were recovered on Monday after a large salvage team located their armored vehicle submerged in a swamp.

The soldiers went missing during exercises at a training camp in Pabrade, near the border with Belarus, according to Lithuanian authorities. The vehicle lost contact on March 25 "while performing a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle," according to the U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

"The fourth U.S. Army soldier (...) was found dead near Pabrade, Lithuania, on the evening of April 1," the U.S. Army press service said.

The identities of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of their families, according to the source. The Army did not specify the exact location where the body of the fourth soldier was found.

The Lithuanian Defense Ministry expressed its "deep regret" over their deaths.

Also the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, thanked the work of the "brave servicemembers" who made it possible to recover the bodies and Lithuania for its cooperation.

The first news of the soldiers was confirmed by U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll with a post on X on Monday: "It is with profound sorrow that I share the heartbreaking news of the loss of three brave Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, who tragically lost their lives during a vehicle recovery mission in Lithuania. We will not rest until the fourth and final Soldier is found and brought home."

Lithuania, a member of both NATO and the EU, hosts over 1,000 U.S. troops deployed on a rotational basis.