‘I need to know’: Mother of Fort Hood soldier still seeking answers a year after son’s remains found in Killeen

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - The family of deceased Fort Hood soldier Gregory Wedel Morales has more questions than answers a year after the soldier’s remains were found in Killeen during the search for Vanessa Guillen.

“The situation today is not a whole lot different than a year ago,” said Gregory’s mother, Kim Wedel, who is still grieving for her lost loved one.

Wedel said her son’s death certificate still lists his cause of death as “pending.”

“I sit here and look at his picture and there’s no answers,” the mother said.

A makeshift memorial currently honors Morales’ memory in a field near the 3200 block of Florence Road in Killeen. It was on June 19, 2020 that an anonymous tip led police out to the field during the high-profile search for Guillen, whose disappearance made national headlines.

Instead of finding Guillen’s body, authorities unearthed the remains of Morales, who had been declared AWOL and added to a deserter’s list by the Army. Guillen’s remains were eventually found weeks later in rural Bell County near the Leon River.

Morales had been missing for ten months when his mother received a devastating phone call that started a nightmare she says she’s still living a year later.

“How was he killed? They haven’t even said that,” she said.

The mother, who lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, traveled to Killeen after the discovery was made, but couldn’t get out of the car to see the exact spot in the field where her son’s remains were unearthed.

“There’s a lot of very nice people in Killeen taking care of (the makeshift memorial) for me, bringing him a Dr. Pepper every now and then,” Wedel said.

Wedel said that over the past year, more suspected human remains have been found at the site, including during a visit this past weekend.

“A year later and we’re still finding pieces of my son, which means I didn’t get him - completely - home,” Kim said.

Killeen Police are leading the investigation and have thus far only said foul play is suspected. Investigators have not yet officially confirmed more remains were found at the field where Morales’ remains were found.

Kim said Army officials have ceased all contact with her regarding the case.

“They’ve moved on but I can’t. I need to know,” she said.

The mother said she hopes anyone with information will come forward soon.

“Somebody knows something because they called in to tell them where to find him.”

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