SAPULPA, Okla. — Army Specialist Gregory Morales went missing from Fort Hood Texas in August of 2019.
The Army considered Morales absent without leave for months.
His remains were found in June in a remote field near the base.
READ MORE: Remains found in Texas identified as U.S. solider from Oklahoma
His sister-in-law Destinee Wedel recalls learning the news.
“It’s like that glimmer of hope that you’re still hoping that he’s still alive was like gone,” Wedel said.
Wedel said she doesn't believe Morales would have gone AWOL because he was scheduled to get out of the Army in a few weeks.
Despite that, the Army still considers Morales AWOL until an autopsy can prove he has been dead for as long as he was missing.
Morales is originally from Sapulpa, Oklahoma, and his family is pushing to have the AWOL status changed so he can be buried at Fort Gibson along with other family members who served their country.
His family has started several petitions, including one named after Morales.
“We’re filing a petition to get Gregory’s Law approved," Wedel said. "Where other soldiers that go missing aren’t marked as AWOL or deserted immediately so no other family has to go through what we went through.”
Details of the petitions the family has filed are below:
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