Another Fort Hood soldier is missing: Hunt is launched for 23-year-old nuclear specialist after the deaths of 11 people this year linked to the base

• Local police and the US Army are searching for 23-year-old Sgt. Elder Fernandes after a missing soldier alert was issued on Thursday night
• Fernandes was last seen on Monday afternoon when his staff sergeant dropped him off at his home in Killeen - just four miles from the Fort Hood base 
• His disappearance follows the deaths of 11 Fort Hood soldiers this year alone. Of the 11 deaths, foul play is suspected in five of those 
• An independent investigation is currently underway into the embattled army base following the string of deaths and disappearance 

A massive search is underway in Texas for yet another missing solider from Fort Hood - a US army base currently under investigation following a string of soldier  deaths and disappearances. 

Local police and the US Army are searching for 23-year-old Sgt. Elder Fernandes after a missing soldier alert was issued on Thursday night. 

Fernandes was last seen on Monday afternoon when his staff sergeant dropped him off at his home in Killeen - just four miles from the Fort Hood base. 

At the time, he was wearing his black Army physical training shorts and t-shirt with red trainers.  

Fernandes, who is originally from Brockton, Massachusetts, was reported missing on Wednesday. 

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Local police and the US Army are searching for 23-year-old Sgt. Elder Fernandes after a missing soldier alert was issued by Fort Hood on Thursday night

He is a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist with the 1st Cavalry Division Sustainment Brigade at the Central Texas Army installation. 

His car was found with all his belongings still inside, according to Mass. State Representative Liz Miranda.

Fernandes also recently signed a lease on a new apartment but never picked up the keys. 

Miranda said the missing soldier's mother had already from Massachusetts to Texas to help look for her son. 

The missing soldier alert said the Army's main concern was 'to ensure his safety and wellbeing'. 

His disappearance follows the deaths of 11 Fort Hood soldiers this year alone. Of the 11 deaths, foul play is suspected in five of those.

An independent investigation is currently underway into the embattled army base following the string of deaths and disappearance. 

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Fernandes was last seen on Monday afternoon when his staff sergeant dropped him off at his home in Killeen - just four miles from the Fort Hood base

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His disappearance follows the deaths of 11 Fort Hood soldiers this year alone. Of the 11 deaths, foul play is suspected in five of those. An independent investigation is currently underway into the embattled army base (above) following the string of deaths and disappearance

The base was thrust into the national spotlight with the disappearance of 20-year-old soldier Vanessa Guillen who vanished after reporting she was being sexually harassed at the base. 

She was killed and dismembered by a fellow soldier and her remains were found late June.  

The dead are: Spc. Vanessa Guillen; her alleged killer Spc. Aaron David Robinson, 20; Pvt. Gregory Morales; Pvt. Mejhor Morta; Spc. Francisco Gilberto Hernandezvargas; Pfc. Brandon Scott Rosecrans; Spc. Freddy Delacruz Jr; Spc. Christopher Wayne Sawyer; and Spc. Shelby Tyler Jones.

Last week Sgt. Bradley Moore, 36, died at the base during a training exercise. He was with the Texas Army National Guard. 

Spc. Cole Jakob Aton, 22, was also killed last week while assisting at the scene of a car accident near the base. He had been standing on the road trying to direct traffic around the crash when he was hit by a car. 

Aton had previously shared petitions and posts on social media demanding answers into the deaths and disappearances at the Fort Hood base. 

Fort Hood soldier, Pfc. Gregory Morales, was reported missing from the base a year ago on August 20, 2019.  

The 24-year-old's remains were found on June 21 in a field in Killeen and local police are still investigating his death. 

Then on July 1, Army officials found human remains that were later identified as those 20-year-old Pfc. Vanessa Guillén - a Fort Hood soldier who had been missing since April. 

Her remains were found near the Leon River in Bell County, about 20 miles east of Fort Hood. 

Fellow soldier Spc. Aaron Robinson, 20, killed and dismembered Guillén and had the remains disposed of in nearby woods, federal and state investigators said.  

Robinson killed himself July 1, the day Guillén's remains were found, officials said. 

Cecily Aguilar, 22, of Killeen, has been accused of disposing of Guillén's remains for Robinson and has been charged with three federal conspiracy counts related to the soldier's death. 

She has pleaded not guilty.

Army leaders have delayed the planned transfer of Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, the Fort Hood commander, to a more prestigious assignment at Fort Bliss, Texas, while a team of independent investigators determines if leadership failures contributed to the deaths and disappearances. 

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy has said that Fort Hood has one of the highest rates of murder, sexual assault and harassment in the Army.

McCarty announced in June that an independent investigation will take place into the base.

Five civilian experts have already been sworn in for the investigation to assess command culture to 'root out' why there's been such high cases of violence, deaths, and disappearances.

Those review results will be released in October.

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Fort Hood soldier, Pfc. Gregory Morales (left), was reported missing from the base a year ago on August 20, 2019. The 24-year-old's remains were found on June 21 in a field in Killeen. Then on July 1, Army officials found human remains that were later identified as those 20-year-old Pfc. Vanessa Guillén (right) - a Fort Hood soldier who had been missing since April