A soldier originally from Wisconsin has died while serving on a U.S. Army base in Kosovo, and her father said he and other relatives have questions about what happened.
The U.S. Army on Tuesday confirmed the May 9 death of Sgt. Heidi L. Ruh, a 32-year-old who lived most recently in Barrington.
Ruh's body was found by a civilian at a running track at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, according to the Kosovo Force's Multinational Battle Group-East. Joe Garvey, a spokesman with U.S. Army Europe, told The Associated Press the cause and circumstances of her death are under investigation.
The soldier's father, Scott Ruh, said that officers who came to his home in Newton, Wisconsin, on Friday had few details about what happened to his daughter.
Ruh had been in the Army for 11 years and was based at Fort Hood, Texas, where she survived a shooting rampage by another Army officer in 2009, he father said. She worked in a medical unit, repairing surgical machines and volunteered to go to Kosovo in February.
"Our worst part was we thought our worries were over, you know that she was going to a non-hostile area and she was only there a couple of months," Scott Ruh said.
Ruh grew up in Kiel along with Sgt. Amy Krueger, who was killed during the 2009 Fort Hood shootings. They graduated a year apart from Kiel High School.
Ruh's family plans a public memorial service once her body returns to the area.
Along with her parents, Ruh is also survived by two sons, ages 8 and 11.
