KNOB KNOSTER, Missouri (AP) – The search continues for a missing airman from Alliance, Nebraska stationed in western Missouri at the Whiteman Air Force Base after a fellow airman committed suicide in Texas.
Johnson County Sheriff Charles Heiss says authorities are worried about the safety of 18-year-old Luis Vazquez after he failed to report for duty Monday. The sheriff says Vazquez was last seen Sunday, January 9, with another airman, 19-year-old Kerby Barbe.
Heiss says Barbe drove Vazquez' pickup truck, with Nebraska license plates, to Texas and killed himself near the town of Blanco following a long standoff Tuesday with law enforcement.
Blanco County Sheriff's Sgt. Bob Shelton says that Barbe was a suspect in the death of another airman.
Heiss says only that his office cannot rule out the possibility of foul play.
Alliance Police Chief John Kiss says his department was involved in an initial search after Vazquez was reported missing, but there is no ongoing investigation in Box Butte County.
Vazquez is a 2010 graduate of Alliance High School.
