Cpl. Hayden Allen Harris, a 20-year-old infantryman stationed at Fort Drum, was last heard from between the late evening of December 17 and the early morning of December 18, 2020. He had arranged to meet a fellow soldier, Spc. Jamaal Mellish, in Watertown, New York, to exchange vehicles. The meeting allegedly turned into an abduction.

Investigators say Mellish, accompanied by a 16-year-old male, forcibly took Harris from Watertown and drove several hours through Brooklyn to a secluded area of Byram Township, New Jersey. Harris was found in a quiet cul-de-sac, partially buried in snow, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. Harris was posthumously promoted to Corporal.

Army Criminal Investigation Command and the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office identified Mellish as a primary suspect. Reports state both Mellish and the 16-year-old were arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping, and felony murder, with the juvenile charged as an adult. Does anyone have information about the vehicle transaction or the events in Watertown that night?