The Pentagon is seen on Oct. 21, 2021. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Authorities are investigating the death of a military service member who was found in a vehicle in a Pentagon parking lot, officials said.
Pentagon police officers received a call Tuesday asking for a welfare check for a man who’d been spotted in a vehicle in a parking lot north of the building, according to officials. When officers went to check on the man, they found him unresponsive and called paramedics, who confirmed he was dead.
The dead service member was not immediately identified and it was not disclosed to which service he belonged.
“An investigation is ongoing. We have no further details to announce while the investigation is ongoing,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, said in a statement.
The Pentagon said the service member was first noticed inside the vehicle at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
It’s standard practice in the Defense Department to wait until 24 hours after next of kin are notified before a dead service member is publicly identified.
Officials said the service member was found in a vehicle in the North Parking lot, which is across Virginia Highway 110 not far from the banks of the Potomac River.
