‘CARING PERSON’

Ft. Drum Soldier Found Dead, Fellow Soldier Suspected in Murder

Hayden Harris, 20, was meeting with fellow soldier Jamaal Mellish, 23, for “some type of vehicle exchange” when the situation escalated, a prosecutor said.

A soldier missing from Fort Drum in upstate New York has been found dead, and a fellow soldier has been taken into custody in connection with his death, officials said Sunday. Hayden Harris, 20, was meeting with fellow soldier Jamaal Mellish, 23, for “some type of vehicle exchange” when the situation escalated, prosecutor Gregory Mueller said. Authorities believe that Mellish drove Harris through the New York City area and eventually to New Jersey, where Harris’ body was found.

“It was well known here that Corporal Harris was a great soldier,” Brig. Gen. Brett Funck, the fort’s acting commander, said in a statement. “As we share our grief with his friends and family, I hear again and again how he was also—and most importantly—a really wonderful, caring person.”