St. Mary’s County Native Missing In Washington; Two Booked On Homicide Charges After Army Base Search

LEONARDTOWN, Md. — A missing-person case involving a St. Mary’s County native has shifted into a homicide investigation in Washington state, where two people were arrested after investigators were led to human remains in a training area on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Caelick Bradley, 28, was reported missing near the Tacoma and Joint Base Lewis-McChord area after last being seen June 8, 2026, according to a Washington State Patrol missing-person bulletin. The bulletin listed Bradley as 6 feet tall and about 160 pounds and asked anyone with information to contact the Tacoma Police Department.

Bradley graduated from Leonardtown High School in St. Mary’s County in 2016, giving the case a Southern Maryland connection.

Family members reported that Bradley went missing near Fife, Tacoma and Joint Base Lewis-McChord one week after he was last seen. In the family’s GoFundMe fundraiser, relatives described Bradley as an Army veteran who served at Joint Base Lewis-McChord from 2017 to 2023 with B Company, 2-158 Aviation Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers.

The family said Bradley worked in the Tacoma area at AutoZone, in security at the Port of Tacoma UPS facility and at Walmart. He was in the process of moving out of his apartment and was expected to drive cross-country to live with family in Virginia, but relatives believe he never left Tacoma.

Bradley’s last known vehicle was listed by family as a gold or tan 1996 Lexus LS400 with Washington plate CHA 1977. The family later updated the fundraiser to state that the vehicle had been located.

Lakewood police confirmed Bradley was the missing person tied to the investigation, according to KING 5. The station reported that two people were booked into the Pierce County Jail early July 1 on suspicion of murder, including a service member assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Tacoma police became involved after the male suspect was reportedly using Bradley’s credit card, leading to an identity theft investigation. Lakewood police later received information that Bradley had been killed at an apartment in the 12500 block of Addison in Lakewood and moved afterward, KING 5 reported.

Authorities reported that the male suspect led detectives to the location of a body. Joint Base Lewis-McChord confirmed human remains were found in a training area near Spanaway, an area officials described as accessible to the general public.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office had not publicly confirmed the identity of the remains or the cause of death in the reports reviewed Friday.

In a July 1 update, Bradley’s family wrote that recent developments had changed the focus of their efforts. Funds raised through the family’s GoFundMe will now support the family through the legal process connected to Bradley’s disappearance and costs associated with bringing him home.

The Washington State Patrol bulletin directed anyone with information about Bradley’s whereabouts to contact Tacoma police at 253-287-4455 or the Washington State Patrol Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit at 1-800-543-5678.