Wonder what the real story is?

https://www.foxnews.com/us/wes...ew-york-rifle-search

West Point cadet goes missing in New York along with his rifle, sparking massive search

A cadet reported missing Friday -- along with his rifle -- from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point sparked a massive effort to locate him, with searchers continuing to comb the area in New York on Monday, officials said.

The cadet, who was only identified as a member of the Class of 2021, was last seen Friday around 5:30 p.m. on the grounds of West Point, which is located about 40 miles north of New York City. The cadet's M4 rifle also was reported missing, but officials do not believe the cadet has any magazines or ammunition in his possession.

"There is no indication the cadet poses a threat to the public, but he may be a danger to himself," the military said.

The cadet was scheduled to participate in a military skills competition over the weekend but never showed up. Fellow cadets then began to "immediately search" for their missing teammate before military police were notified, triggering a probe of the military installation at 1 a.m. Saturday.

That search continued throughout the day and expanded to include officials from the New York State Police and the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

By Sunday, the search had expanded to the water, with the U.S. Coast Guard looking along the Hudson River's shoreline. New York State Police also conducted an aerial sweep of the area with a "Forward-Looking Infrared Radar" on Sunday in addition to the utilization of K-9 units and drones.

"I want to thank the local and state law enforcement agencies and emergency services for their tireless support," Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, the superintendent of West Point, said in a statement. "We will continue to search with all means possible, on and off West Point. Safely locating the cadet remains our focus and number one priority."

The military academy is operating under normal conditions with an "increased force protection status."

"We have increased Military Police patrols at sporting events and across the academy as a precautionary measure and to assist in safely locating the missing cadet," the military said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the West Point Military Police at 845-938-3333.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BamaJeepster,

Why would they think (say) he may be a danger to himself - if they have previously handed him an M4? Did they hand an M4 to a Spencer Rapone comrade? - but that would mean he would be a threat to the public.

He probably had access to the M4 because of the military competition.

I believe they still drill with M14s. Those are kept in your barracks room, but they don’t have firing pins so are inoperative.

Actual issue weapons are kept in the central armory and are rarely in the cadet company area, generally only being checked out for some sort of field exercise or if you are participating in some sort of military skills competition (probably sandhurst).

I am sure a lot has changed since I was a cadet 25 years ago, but I can count on 2 hands the number of times I had my m16a1 in my barracks rooms in MacArthur short and long wing barracks.

I hope he is ok. The reality is there are suicides amongst the corps of cadets. While I understand the concern given the missing M4, the reality is he is probably much more likely to harm himself than others.

Use a Red Flag Law to take his rifle.

Or get Beto to ask him nicely.

Or wait until his body is found next to rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
Use a Red Flag Law to take his rifle.

Or get Beto to ask him nicely.

Or wait until his body is found next to rifle.

Complete lack of class considering the circumstances and current minimal information.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
Use a Red Flag Law to take his rifle.

Or get Beto to ask him nicely.

Or wait until his body is found next to rifle.

Politics in an apolitical thread and in addition to that, entirely uncalled for and classless remarks. You damn well know better than to pull something like this. Cool it.

quote:

Wonder what the real story is?

Same here. I'll say a prayer for the cadet.

I pray that the cadet is found unharmed. Is the M4 rifle actually "his" or just one that he is assigned to use? The M4 is a fully-automatic assault carbine, so it is unlikely to be a weapon the cadet personally owned--how/where did he get it?

flashguy

He has no access to mags or ammo? During my USAF career, I kept a second full basic load in my duty bag. No one was the wiser. When I went PCS, I shot it all up at the base dump.
Why take the rifle if you cant shoot it?

quote:

Why take the rifle if you cant shoot it?

Aren't AR-15 and M4 magazines identical? If so, any LGS would have magazines and ammo.

One hopes that the cadet is found safe and can get any assistance necessary.

very curious to see how this ends up

cadets don't have 'easy access' to M4s so wonder what the full story is

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quote:

Originally posted by SPWAMike0317:

quote:

Why take the rifle if you cant shoot it?

Aren't AR-15 and M4 magazines identical? If so, any LGS would have magazines and ammo.

yes

if he planned anything nefarious he could roadtrip and make a stop at a gunshop and load up

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quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
I pray that the cadet is found unharmed.

^^^This. We have no idea of the circumstances at play here, and this young man may be struggling with some issues right now. Hopefully everything turns out Ok for everyone.

quote:

Originally posted by SPWAMike0317:
Aren't AR-15 and M4 magazines identical? If so, any LGS would have magazines and ammo.

Remember, he's in the [commie] state of New York. And there is something like a 49 chance in 50 that he is not a NY state resident. Good chance he might get carded/ID'd to purchase and he's also probably under 21 y/o (he is a college junior).

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 229DAK,

He'd have to buy ten round magazines.

I've often wondered about weapons storage for their teams. They've got all manner of ordinance there, but I always assumed their access was limited and strictly controlled. Most of the FA stuff I've fired was there.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
He'd have to buy ten round magazines.

But depending where he's from, he could already have mags and ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
He has no access to mags or ammo? During my USAF career, I kept a second full basic load in my duty bag. No one was the wiser.

Yup, we all had extra 45 mags and M16 mags in our SAR bags, in case we saw a hog or deer, when I was at a SAR station...and aboard ship I always had the keys to the guns and armory..hell once I sank a fuel tank from a burned out shrimp boat with the M16-used my ammo and no one was the wiser...and we didn’t have to do any paperwork on the expenditure of the ammo.

Hey Kevbo - maybe they should check out the train tunnel and the steam tunnels?

There was the Richard Colvin Cox case from the early 1950s....

Link

I also fear he is more a danger to himself than others.

Hopefully he is found alive and well.

One change at West Point over the years was that M14 rifles were kept in unsecured racks in cadets’ rooms, and they were fully functional, not used only for drill.