Posted on 08/21/2009 4:16:26 PM PDT by Prodigal Son
BÖBLINGEN, Germany — Police have located the rental vehicle used by a Special Forces soldier to flee custody after he was convicted in a court-martial of kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of a German woman. The soldier remains at large.
The black Audi Q5 was parked on Waldburgstrasse, which runs parallel to the northern perimeter of Panzer Kaserne’s family housing.
A manhunt for Sgt. 1st Class Kelly A. Stewart, 36, began Thursday morning after he failed to show for the sentencing phase of his trial. Late on Wednesday, a court-martial panel in Vilseck found him guilty of several charges in relation to an August 2008 incident. A soldier who was sharing an on-post hotel room with the convicted soldier told the court Thursday that he awoke around 7:30 a.m. and found Stewart was missing, along with his Class A uniform, wallet, two cell phones and the rented Audi.
The vehicle was found no more than 300 meters from the northwest corner of the base on Friday morning. On the front passenger seat, a half-eaten pastry and a bottle of water could be seen. There were a pair of dark green slacks and a white shirt, along with two cardboard boxes, in the back seat.
At least three plainclothes German police officers, obscured by nearby bushes, had been observing the vehicle.
Army officials and German police officers would not comment on the case, saying only that an investigation is ongoing.
Despite his absence, Stewart, who trained fellow Special Forces soldiers at the International Special Training Center in Pfullendorf, was sentenced to eight years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.
David Court, the civilian attorney who represented Stewart, decliined to comment on his client’s state of mind and was cautious when asked if he thought Stewart would be found.
“Do I have a crystal ball?,” Court said. “I can tell you this. There was evidence presented in court that [Stewart] had the highest level of [Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape]
Special Forces soldier escapes from Vilseck hotel after kidnapping, assault conviction
Update on the Special Forces soldier in Germany.
I’m sure I left people out but I think I got most of the ones that seemed interested in this story.
Even Special Forces soldiers with his training are human so at this point we don’t know if his heart is into this escape or not, if it isn’t then it may not last very long, but if his heart is into this, then he is capable of bringing extraordinary skills and talents into this.
This one could go either way. If he was just a single guy, I'd say he's long gone and starting a whole new identity. However, having a wife and kid stateside makes that a much more difficult decision.
Thanks for the ping!
Boeblingen is a long way from Vilseck. Did he have some connection to the Stuttgart area?
I think the guy was railroaded so I wish him the best.
Agreed, IMO with his training if he doesn’t want to be found, he won’t
Well, Boeblingen is closer to where he was stationed- Pfullendorf (which is south of Stuttgart). It’s in the direction of France from Vilseck.
I know from the other article his mother is German. I don’t know if she lives in Germany or not. Maybe it’s just that he knows the area around Stuttgart better?
Hard to speculate here.
His family lives in the housing area which is right outside the gate of Panzer Kaserne.
He seems like a valuable asset. Perhaps his controllers made arrangements for his getaway?
Why would the SF allow a soldier like this waste away for eight years while trying wars are being fought?
He’s probably off to a location where his talents are a valued commodity.
Well, if that’s the case, he probably just went home and got some clothes and money and a different ride. Whatever else he thought he’d need. It doesn’t look like it would have taken that long to drive there from Vilseck and from the article yesterday it seemed like he had a few hours head start.
I’m guessing those polizei who were squatting in the bushes surveilling the Audi will have a long wait.
SOCOM Ping
His guard was a member of his unit.
He was evidently trained well.
Awfully convenient situation...
Depending on how fast he was driving, he could have made it in a little over 2 hours.
While I was stationed in Heilbronn, an American couple who lived off post were robbed, by confidence-scheme Germans.
The German polizei were VERY impressive, and caught the bad guys within a day or so.
Down the A6 turn south at Heilbronn?
I used to live in Erlangen- very near Nuernberg. Would have to get in the car and go out to Heidelberg for duty reasons sometimes and back in one day. Pedal to the floor it didn’t take that long unless there was a lot of trucks.
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