The body of a 23-year-old soldier assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington was recovered from a lake in Mount Rainier National Park, roughly 60 miles southwest of the base, at about noon Monday.
Spc. Antonio Scott died Saturday while swimming in an unnamed lake below Emmons Glacier, near the park’s White River Campground, with a group of his friends, according to Mount Rainier National Park officials.
While crossing the lake, Scott began to struggle and, despite his friends’ attempts to assist him, he went underwater and did not resurface, park officials said. One of Scott’s friends notified park rangers and a team was dispatched to begin a search of the lake.
A dive team from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department ultimately recovered Scott’s body using sonar and divers, park officials added.
Scott was a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, and served as a military policeman with the 51st MP Detachment, Army officials said in a news release.
He enlisted in January 2017 and attended Military Police One Station Unit Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. JBLM was his first duty assignment.
“Spc. Scott’s impact was truly felt across the unit, and he is a prime example of America’s finest sons and daughters,” said Capt. Michael Matthews, Scott’s detachment commander. “He will be missed, and his smile always remembered.”
Scott specifically worked as an investigator specializing in state traffic laws and investigating motor vehicle collisions on the installation.
“Soldiers from 51st MP Det will remember Spc. Scott as a consummate professional who was eager to volunteer for new missions and greeted everyone with a smile,” the Army release reads.
While no foul play is suspected, the incident is under investigation, the release added.
Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.
