The families of two Fort Bliss Soldiers who were last seen nearly two weeks are desperately seeking answers this morning.
Jake Obad-Mathis and Melvin Jones were both last seen together Monday, December 19th in Jones’ black 2013 Camero on post. They haven’t been heard from or seen since.
Obad-Mathis, 20, didn’t have leave from Fort Bliss and is currently being considered AWOL by post officials. The Warriors Aftermath and Recovery Group is assisting both Obad-Mathis’ and Jones’ family in trying to get tips on their whereabouts.
According to Maggie Haswell with the Warriors Aftermath and Recovery Group, Obad-Mathis is one of five children and stays in regular daily contact with all of his family. At the time of his disappearance, he had planned to spend the Christmas Holiday with his Commanding Sergeant because he had to stay on base.
On December 21st, Bliss Officials called Obad-Mathis’ parents to report him as AWOL after he failed to report to duty for two consecutive days.
Jones, 20, was also seen last on December 19th. He was actually awarded leave for the Christmas break, so as of today, Fort Bliss officials don’t consider him a missing person.
His father, Duane Jones, planned on visiting Melvin in El Paso and the two had tickets to attend Friday’s Sun Bowl Game. Jones arrived at the El Paso International airport Thursday evening and Jones never arrived to pick him up. He’s been searching for his son ever since.
The two are believed to possibly be together in Jones’ 2013 Chevy Camero with Texas license plates HTV9983.
El Paso Police have advised the family that they will not make a missing persons report on the two soldiers because they are both adults and at this time, one is considered AWOL.
The family members of the two soldiers disagree, and believe the two may be in danger.
Obad-Mathis is described as Asian American, 5-feet-3-inches tall, weighing approximately 120 pounds. He has brown hair, brown eyes and a tattoo of a Japanese cherry tree on his right rib cage and two phrases on his forearms.
Jones is described as black, with a light complexion. 5-feet-3-inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds. He has dark hair and hazel eyes. He is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
If you have any information on Obad-Mathis or Jones’ whereabouts or have seen them in the past two weeks, you’re asked to call the El Paso Police Department at (915) 832-4400 or the Warriors Aftermath and Recovery Group at (208) 724-7123.
(Information from ElPasoProud.com)
