US soldier’s transgender wife found dead during his ‘willful’ disappearance, sparking an investigation

An Army base in Texas is probing the mysterious death of a soldier’s wife, whose body was found while the serviceman was briefly missing, according to a report.

Cam Chamberlain’s death in May has raised a number of questions, especially after her husband, Army Specialist Craig Chamberlain, was found alive the next day after he disappeared for less than two weeks.

The confounding case began when Cam, a transgender woman, reported her husband missing on May 15, with Army officials at Fort Cavazos believing the 23-year-old was “willfully” absent from his unit, KWTX reported.

Her death was announced May 25, and he was found alive on May 26.

Army investigators have opened a criminal investigation, NBC News reported Thursday, though a spokesperson did not provide further details.

It’s unclear when, where or how she died.

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No autopsy has been conducted, and no funeral has been scheduled, the outlet reported.

“I can’t even mourn her death the way family should, because it’s as if she never existed at all now,” her longtime friend Shandy Eubank told NBC News.

When Craig was found, he was in rough shape, his mother, Virginia Chamberlain, reportedly said.

Craig had also faced an administrative investigation into his disappearance, which has since concluded.

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But the findings of the internal probe cannot be revealed due to privacy rules, NBC News reported.

Craig’s current status in the Army is unclear.

When he went missing, his wife reportedly told a friend she planned on breaking up with him, according to a friend.

“Even though I’m getting divorced I still can’t help but think he’s in danger,” she wrote, according to the outlet. “I still love him and I’d blame myself if anything happened to him.”

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She additionally told the friend when he went missing, he left her without food or money for necessities.

Cam posted a missing person flyer on social media that indicated he left without his keys and phone.

She also wrote on the flier he was dealing with a “bout of extreme depression.”

During Craig’s disappearance, his wife said she only found out then that he stopped reporting to the Army base in March, according to a Killeen Daily Herald report from May.

“He told me he was going to work the whole time, so I didn’t think anything of it, but in reality, he wasn’t really going to work; he was just saying he was going to work,” she reportedly said.

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But Craig’s mother, Virginia, denied that he was lying to Cam, citing photos from that time that showed he had long hair and facial hair, NBC News reported.

“You can’t report for duty like that in the Army,” she said.

Fort Cavazos stated Craig Chamberlain had “failed” to reach a new assignment for “unknown reason” and declined to comment on Cam Chamberlain’s assertions.