Teen's death triggers policy review at Fort Lewis

The death of a 16-year-old girl in a Fort Lewis barracks is triggering a wide-ranging review of post policies that should have prevented her from entering the troops' living quarters.

Those policies allow barracks access only when a minor is accompanied by a legal guardian, according to a Fort Lewis spokesman. That did not appear to have happened Sunday when the sophomore from Lakes High School in Lakewood was found dead along with a second 16-year-old girl who remains hospitalized.

The Army is investigating whether alcohol or drugs may have been involved, but a cause of death has not be released by Fort Lewis officials.

The incident is being viewed by many as a wake-up call at a post where some say there is a long history of underage girls flocking to party with soldiers.

"The command is taking this event very seriously," said Joe Piek, a Fort Lewis spokesman. "If changes need to be made to the policies, that may happen. And if the policies in place need to be more thoroughly enforced and held to, then that may be what happens."

The girl who died was one of two 16-year-olds found "unresponsive" at around 3:30 a.m. Sunday in a barracks, a Fort Lewis spokesman said Monday. The Lakes sophomore could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene while the second girl remained hospitalized Tuesday at Madigan Army Medical Center. The dead girl showed no signs of physical trauma or other obvious indications of what may have caused her death, Piek said.

As of Tuesday evening, the names of the girls had not been released by family members or Fort Lewis, although post officials said neither was a member of a military family. The dead girl had attended ninth grade at Lakes High, but withdrew last fall and took online classes, according to spokeswoman Kim Prentice of the Clover Park School District. Prentice declined to name the girl at the request of the family.

She said the girl re-enrolled at Lakes this month and had been attending regular classes.

Prentice said the school brought in a "grief-response team" of counselors for any student or staff member who needs them.

Students Joey Fitzpatrick and twin brothers Isiah and Joseph Alvarado described a subdued mood on campus Tuesday after students learned of the girl's death.

"She was generally nice to people," Joey Fitzpatrick said.

Some friends posted condolences on the dead girl's MySpace Web page. The family also posted a note, saying they had few details about what happened.

"What we know, we are not supposed to share just yet," and asked that rumors be kept down during the Army investigation.

A family member who posted on the Web site did not respond to an e-mail sent by a Times reporter.

Fort Lewis officials said an autopsy will be performed, and the Army Criminal Investigation Command will be examining the possible use of alcohol and drugs as it conducts interviews with soldiers and others with knowledge of the girls' stay at the barracks.

As of Tuesday, at least one soldier had been questioned in connection with the incident. There have been no arrests.

Fort Lewis also had not released details about the barracks visited by the girls, or where in that building they were found. Some barracks offer soldiers an individual room as a sleeping quarters, while others have multiple soldiers in a room.

Access to Fort Lewis, the largest Army post west of the Rockies, is controlled by security officials at the main gates. Civilians can enter if they are accompanied by a soldier or a post employee who holds a Department of Defense identification card.

Anyone 16 years or older must produce a valid photo identification, while no photo identification is required for anyone 15 years old or younger, according to a statement released Tuesday by Fort Lewis.

Entry to barracks is more restrictive. Saturday visitors are allowed access between the hours of 8 a.m. and 2 a.m., but they must sign in and all minors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, according to the statement.

No overnight visitors are permitted in the barracks, the statement reads.

Fort Lewis officials would not say Tuesday whether there is a record of the two girls signing in to the barracks, saying that would be part of the investigation.

It's not uncommon for teenage girls to approach young soldiers and be brought onto Fort Lewis.

The manager of a dry-cleaning store a short distance north of the post said she's seen teenage girls go car to car asking for a ride onto the base.

"It's easy for them to get on the post," said Maria Dibbens, manager of Plaza Cleaners. "It happens all the time. They want to get on base and see the young GIs."

Dibbens said she often sees teenage girls approaching uniformed military men in the parking lots of a convenience store and a service station across the street from her shop.

"It happens more in the summer," Dibbens said. "Sometimes you see them get into the trunk of a car."

The practice of girls trying to meet up with soldiers apparently goes back years.

Suzette Johnson, a 43-year-old paralegal, recalls partying at Fort Lewis as a 16-year-old student attending Clover Park High School in the early 1980s.

"It was open season on young women as far as sexual conquests, and nobody paid any attention as to age," she said. "It never came up in the conversation."

Johnson says she drank beer and wine with soldiers on the post. And her friend, then 15, spent the night at the barracks with a young soldier, said Johnson, who picked up her friend from the base the next morning.

Johnson said she was saddened but not surprised to hear about the death of the 16-year-old Sunday.

"Why don't they keep a closer eye on this?" Johnson said. "It seems that on base, age means nothing.

"There's a lot of history."

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com

Information from Seattle Times staff reporters Marc Ramirez, Ian Ith and Nick Perry is included in this report.