Nab G.I. in killing of Ft. Drum soldier

Authorities on Monday were holding an Army soldier in the death of a fellow soldier from Tennessee who was found shot to death in New Jersey after he went missing from a base in upstate New York.

Authorities found the body of Cpl. Hayden Harris, 20, in a wooded area of Byram Township, N.J., on Saturday.

The resident of Guys,

Tenn., was last heard from Thursday night after he headed from Fort Drum to Watertown, N.Y., for a vehicle transaction, the Army said.

Harris (inset) was meeting a fellow soldier, Jamaal Mellish, for “some type of vehicle exchange,” First Assistant Sussex County Prosecutor Gregory Mueller said. Authorities believe Mellish “abducted” Harris and killed him, Mueller said.

Mellish, 23, was held in New York and charges were pending. It wasn’t immediately known whether Mellish had a lawyer.

He allegedly took Harris in a 2017 white Chevrolet Silverado and drove him to the New York City area and eventually across the state line into New Jersey, Mueller told the New Jersey Herald. Army officials previously said Harris was driving a red 2016 Ford Mustang with Tennessee license plates, from his home state; the Silverado also belonged to Harris, Sgt. Daniel DeWald of the Byram Town Police Department said. Authorities said a juvenile, whose identity has not been released, was also in the vehicle.

Byram firefighters stumbled upon Harris’ body Saturday when they noticed personal belongings near the Ross Road cul-de-sac, including documents and a pair of shoes, according to The Herald. They notified Byram police when they found blood, Mueller told the paper.

Harris, an infantryman with the 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, trained at Fort Benning, Ga., before he joined the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in July 2019.

“His death is a tremendous loss for his loved ones, this division and our nation,” Brigadier Gen. Brett Funck, acting commander for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, said in a statement.

Harris was promoted from specialist to corporal following his death.