Recruit’s death under investigation at Parris Island
The death of a recruit at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is under investigation.
The recruit, Raheel Siddiqui of Taylor, Mich., died Friday at the depot, Marine spokesman Capt. Greg Carroll said Sunday. He had arrived at Parris Island just one week earlier, on March 7, and was assigned to the Recruit Training Regiment, Carroll said.
Carroll declined to comment further on the circumstances of his death, as it is being examined by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Attempts to reach investigators were unsuccessful Sunday.
About 20,000 recruits train each year at the Port Royal depot, one of two Marine boot camps in the country.
Parris Island has been the site of deaths in the past, including that of recruits during training exercises. It was not known Sunday whether that was the case with Siddiqui.
The most deadly incident, in April 1956, nearly shut the depot down after a staff sergeant marched his platoon into the swampy, tidal Ribbon Creek, drowning six recruits. The drill instructor, Matthew McKeon, was later found guilty of possession and use of an alcoholic beverage, and the Marine Corps enacted changes such as greater supervision of drill instructors and more formal training of recruits.
More recent deaths at the depot include February 2005 drowning of 19-year-old Jason Tharp, who died after struggling to pass a combat water survival test in a pool. His staff sergeant was later acquitted of negligent homicide.
In September 2006, a new male recruit, whose name was not released, died after participating in an initial strength exam designed to test recruits’ basic physical readiness for training.
And in June 2014, Staff Sgt. Hugo O. Espinoza, 31, was found dead in base housing just about one year after he became a drill instructor for the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion. No foul play was suspected.
Rebecca Lurye: 843-706-8155, @IPBG_Rebecca
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This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Recruit’s death under investigation at Parris Island."