#Fort Hood soldier Elder Fernandes died by suicide, medical examiner finds

A Fort Hood soldier whose body was found last month died by suicide, according to a medical examiner’s report obtained by NBC News.

Sgt. Elder Fernandes, 23, who went missing on Aug. 19, was discovered dead later that month 30 miles from the troubled Texas Army base. He had reported sexual harassment against him before he went missing.

Natalie Khawam, the Fernandes family’s attorney, had said Army officials told his relatives that Fernandes was found hanging from a tree.

Fernandes was one of 28 soldiers to have died at the base this year, according to the Associated Press.

He is among at least four Fort Hood troops who were found dead after going missing, including Vanessa Guillen, whose remains were located July 1 near Leon River in Bell County, about 20 miles east of Fort Hood.

Guillen, 20 was allegedly bludgeoned to death at the base by a fellow soldier, Spc. Aaron David Robinson, 20, who later killed himself.

The violence has prompted an internal, independent investigation at the base and the removal of Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, who oversaw the facility.

Congress on Tuesday also announced its own investigation into the base, calling on the Army to turn over administrative records detailing its response to an “alarming” number of deaths, felonies and reports of sexual harassment.