Fort Bragg soldier found dead in Florida home
WRAL News
January 8, 2015
SAINT CLOUD, FLA. — A Fort Bragg soldier was found dead inside a relative’s home in Saint Cloud, Fla. on Jan. 4, the military announced Wednesday.
Spc. Ryan J. Sanderson, 24, of Saint Cloud, was a scout javelin gunner assigned to 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
Sanderson’s death is under investigation by military and civilian law enforcement.
The military did not say whether his death was suspicious.
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PTSD is unending nightmare for vets
Saint Cloud Times
Kirsti Marohn
David Unze
The age of veterans treated for PTSD at the St. Cloud VA ranges from 19 to 91, Maurstad said. The average age is around 50, with many Vietnam-era veterans joined by a growing group of younger veterans. About half served in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom, he said.
The long U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down, but for many veterans, the anguish continues.
During deployment, many service men and women were on alert around the clock, at constant risk for death or injury. They saw people killed or wounded, and perhaps had to kill or wound others. In some cases, their tours of duty were longer than expected, and many have been deployed several times.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates up to 20 percent of veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan have post-traumatic stress disorder. Because not all veterans seek treatment, the numbers could be higher.
Veterans with PTSD may suffer from a range of symptoms including flashbacks, nightmares, emotional numbness, irritability and difficulty sleeping.
The risk of PTSD in service members is higher among those who served longer deployments, experienced more severe combat exposure or physical injury, and those who have family problems, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD. Women are more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress, as are members of the National Guard or Reserve.
For many veterans, the problems start after they’ve been home a while. A spouse or loved one notices that the veteran seems distant and disconnected. Or they might struggle with anger, depression or substance abuse. read more here
Missing soldier's family holds out hope for news
May. 28, 2013
The Associated Press
ST. CLOUD, FLA. — Relatives of a missing soldier the Army has declared dead say they believe she’s still alive.
Brig. Gen. David K. MacEwen declared 23-year-old Spc. Kelli Bordeaux deceased as of May 20. That will allow her family to receive military death benefits.
Bordeaux was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. It’s been more than a year since the central Florida native left her apartment on April 13, 2012, and headed to Froggy Bottoms, a bar about a half-mile from her home. Early the next morning, witnesses reported seeing her leaving the bar with a homeless sex offender. He has denied any role in her disappearance.
Searches by groups of volunteers looking for Bordeaux’s remains in secluded areas near the base have been unsuccessful.
No one has yet been criminally charged in the case.
Bordeaux’s brother, Matt Henson, told WFTV in Orlando that he’s still in touch with North Carolina investigators. A reward has grown from $25,000 to $33,000 read more here
Kelli Bordeaux: Missing Soldier's Husband Thanks Community at 'Vigil of Hope'
By ALYSSA NEWCOMB
May 12, 2012
The husband of missing soldier Kelli Bordeaux thanked the community at a "vigil of hope" held Friday night near the bar where the 23-year-old was last seen.
"I appreciate everything everyone is trying to do to find her," Mike Bordeaux told ABC News affiliate WTVD.
"I just want her home and I want her safe. That's all I want."
The missing soldier, who is from St. Cloud, Fla., has been married to her husband, Mike Bordeaux, who is a civilian, for nearly two years.
He was in Florida at the time of his wife's disappearance visiting his father, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Pfc. Bordeaux, who is a combat medic stationed at Fort Bragg was last seen leaving Froggy Bottoms bar in Fayetteville around 1:20 a.m. on April 14. read more here
Family of missing soldier holding on to hope
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.
The brother of a Fort Bragg soldier who has been missing for a week said Friday that the family remains confident that she is alive and will be found, despite the fact that police have no good leads in her disappearance.
"There is no doubt in my mind that we are going to find her alive," said Matt Henson of his sister, Pfc. Kelli Bordeaux.
Last Friday, Bordeaux, 23, of St. Cloud, Fla., was last seen around 1:20 a.m. leaving a bar on Ramsey Street in Fayetteville called Froggy Bottoms.
Officials at Fort Bragg reported her missing to Fayetteville police on Monday, when she didn't show up for duty.
Investigators were searching the area near the bar and interviewing patrons on Friday after a two-day search of a pond about 8 miles away, which was prompted by a tip, turned up nothing.
Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine said that detectives are still treating Bordeaux's disappearance as an active missing person's case but that they have "grave concerns" about her well-being.
A man who told police that he gave Bordeaux a ride home from the bar was arrested Friday on a charge of failing to provide his new address to Cumberland County authorities because he is a registered sex offender. read more here
Military can open facility near school -- with strings Kumari Kelly Sentinel Staff Writer June 29, 2008 ST. CLOUD - A residential substance-abuse treatment facility for veterans and active-duty military members will be allowed to open near a playground for schoolchildren with strict limits on how the center is used, the City Council voted last week. Despite protests from parents and the principal at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School, who expressed concern about the potential for crime and the safety of their children, the council voted 3-1 to allow Transition House to open an 80-bed center. It will be at 3800 Fifth St., about 500 feet west of Brown Chapel Road. The school is at 800 Brown Chapel Road, but its playground backs up near the property. The center is also about a half-mile from Lakeview Elementary School and within the two-mile boundary for 114 students who could be walking to school, a county school district official said. Officials with Transition House agreed that only veterans -- and no former inmates or those with criminal histories -- will be allowed at the house.
