A worrying situation unfolded this week when four U.S. Army soldiers disappeared during a training exercise near Lithuania’s capital. The soldiers, along with their tracked vehicle, were last seen on Tuesday afternoon at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, a small town just 10 kilometers from the Belarus border. Now, a full-scale search is underway to find them.
The U.S. military confirmed the news on Wednesday, saying the soldiers were part of a planned tactical training session when they went missing.
“We’re doing everything we can to locate them,” said a spokesperson from U.S. Army Europe and Africa, based in Wiesbaden, Germany.
They didn’t share many details yet but promised to keep everyone updated as soon as they know more.
Lithuanian officials are just as concerned. The country’s military and police have teamed up with U.S. forces to comb the area.
“We’ve identified a possible spot where something might have happened, and our search and rescue teams are working hard,” the Lithuanian military said in a statement.
It’s a tense time for everyone involved, especially since Pabradė is so close to Belarus, a country that’s been a hotspot for regional tensions.
Locals in Lithuania are talking about it too. The public broadcaster LRT reported that the soldiers and their vehicle vanished during the exercise, leaving people wondering what could have gone wrong.
Was it an accident? Did they get lost?
No one knows yet, and that uncertainty is making the situation feel even heavier.
These soldiers are from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, according to the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius. They were in Lithuania as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen ties with NATO allies in the region.
Lithuania, along with its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia, has had a rocky relationship with Russia and its ally Belarus for years, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
That history adds an extra layer of worry to this mystery.
For now, families, friends, and fellow soldiers are holding their breath, hoping for good news. The search continues, and people across Lithuania and the U.S. are keeping a close eye on updates.
It’s a reminder of how unpredictable things can get, even during routine training, and how much everyone wants these four soldiers to come home safe.