AWOL soldier found in Mojave Desert

[RiverStone]

Something about this strikes me as very strange....


Jan 22, 11:36 AM EST

NEEDLES, Calif. (AP) -- An Army Ranger who went absent without leave was found alone and uninjured on a mountaintop in the Mojave Desert, authorities said.

Searchers on horseback, dirt bike and four-wheel ATVs helped Army crews in Black Hawk helicopters locate Pfc. Andrew Stone, 20, of Wisconsin, on Sunday afternoon.

Carol Darby, a spokeswoman for Army Special Operations Command, said Monday she did not know when the Army listed Stone as AWOL. The search reportedly began late last week.

According to San Bernardino sheriff's officials, Stone picked up maps of the Mojave Desert from a Bureau of Land Management office Friday before he abandoned his car near the edge of the desert south of Needles.

Rescuers found Stone on a mountaintop south of the Mojave National Preserve, said sheriff's Deputy Dave Pichotta.

Officials said he had no ties to the area, which is about two hours south of Las Vegas near the California-Arizona border.


More at link:



http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WI_AWOL_SOLDIER_WIOL-?SITE=WIFON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


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...Searchers on horseback, dirt bike and four-wheel ATVs helped Army crews in Black Hawk helicopters locate Pfc. Andrew Stone

Lets see, they sent out a posse, dirt bike and ATV riders, AND Black Hawk helicopters to find this dude? At what cost to taxpayers? Was he a spy or something? Was he a threat to national security?



WHATS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE! :grr:



edit: link added

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[patrice]

1. Everyone who helped find him should be sent to Iraq. n/t

[Raydawg1234]

20. yeah right, they probably have already been n/t

[Captain Hilts]

2. He's been to Afghanistan AND Iraq. Seems he's done his bit.

And I come from a military family and have ZERO tolerance for deserters.

It seems to me this guy's punched enough tickets.

[roody]

12. What do you think about Lt. Watada?

[Kali]

3. Similar terrain to where he had been.

Interesting he could be found so easily but no world's most wanted terrast, that needs dialysis?

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. They would have to do this, they know that otherwise a lot of

guys would try & escape. They have to do a publicized massive manhunt for each & every one & follow it up with a big trial.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. there is something wrong

I am just not sure what.

Does the Army think this guy is a danger to himself or others?

Does he know something the Army does not want revealed?

Is he a witness to something?

Was this just a test to see how this guy can avoid capture?

[Solo_in_MD]

7. How about the searchers thought he was lost or was injured?

It was treated as a missing hiker, not a AWOL soldier by those locally (I have a couple of friends who were involved with it peripherally).

[Kolesar]

13. You are talking sense

Thank you for talking sense.

[pitohui]

14. this is what i would have thought

glad for the explanation solo and it makes sense too

a missing hiker in the mojave is no joke, people die out there

[Big Pappa]

19. Bingo.

[angstlessk]

6. My thought is, do the military have RFID chips?

they seemed to find him pretty easily?

[truthisfreedom]

8. RFID is only useful at very close range. RFID tags carry no power of their own, and have

very little transmission range when exposed to RF activation signals. I doubt RFID range is greater than 50 to 100 feet even with the most sensitive equipment.

[Casablanca]

9. Informers and satellite reconnaisance, I suspect.

Right now, the cost to the American taxpayer of locating one more warm body to send back to Iraq is probably the least of the NSA's concerns right now.

[Megahurtz]

10. Poor Guy that they Found Him!

:(

[phrenzy]

11. I guess he got tired of hiding in the white house (n/t)

[maryallen]

15. Did they send out a similar posse when Georgie went AWOL?

Nah, I didn't think so: they just made him President.

Go figure ...

[silverojo]

16. Hey, where were these searchers

When we were looking for Bin Laden?

F*ckers. :mad:

[Solo_in_MD]

17. The searchers were local search and rescue types, not the military

It was treated as a lost hiker

[underpants]

18. Sounds like he just wanted some time alone

Sit it out and think about it for a while.

I can understand that I felt the same way when I got out and I hadn't been through anything near what he had.

He has to pay a price but I would guess that he is cool with that.

[Raydawg1234]

21. you are all making a big fuss over nothing. I'm sure this sort of thing has

happened long before the Iraq war

[Towelie]

22. There's nothing wrong with this picture

The Army didn't know he was going AWOL. It's not like people who do this check in with their supervisors first. He went missing and his car turned up abandoned in the desert. That's suspicious, and ANYBODY would have a search party looking for them under those circumstances. Not to mention that a Ranger going AWOL under any circumstances is highly unexpected due to the amount of extreme training and dedication required to achieve that status.