Search Continues for Missing Fort Hood Soldier

Tuesday, June 12th 2007, 7:02 am

By: News On 6

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) _ Soldiers searched the sprawling Fort Hood Army base in 90-degree heat for a 25-year-old sergeant who got lost during a navigational training exercise after telling superiors he was determined to finish.

More than 500 soldiers and civilians conducted ground searches for a third day Monday in the juniper-covered hills of Fort Hood's training range for any trace of Sgt. Lawrence G. Sprader. Two Black Hawk helicopters scanned the range day and night.

Sprader disappeared Friday evening. He was two hours overdue from a solo navigation training drill and apparently did not follow a safety siren used by nine others who were also lost to return to base camp.

Col. Diane Battaglia, a Fort Hood spokeswoman, said when Sprader spoke to commanders by cell phone he did not indicate that he was sick or distressed, only that he wanted to finish the exercise.

His phone battery has since died and searchers worry Sprader may have succumbed to the heat, dehydration or may be injured.

The searchers, many of whom were Sprader's classmates in a two-week non-commissioned officer training course, walked roughly 9,500 acres, looking for any sign of him. The training range covers 15,000 acres of trees and high grass.

``There's a possibility, especially with the heat index, that he probably was seeking shade, which is obviously compounding the search'' difficulty, Battaglia said.

Sprader, of Prince George, Va., had two canteens and a water backpack, and because of recent rain, there is surface water scattered on the range, Battaglia said. Health officials told searchers an individual like Sprader could probably survive four days without water.

Battaglia said officials have no reason to believe Sprader intentionally disappeared. Other soldiers saw him on the course during the exercise, and fellow students and commanders said he was a model soldier.