Army Probes Mysterious Baby Deaths at Fort Bragg

By Deborah Hastings AOL News

(Sept. 1) — Army officials are investigating the sudden, mysterious deaths of 10 babies at the sprawling Fort Bragg installation in North Carolina, but some parents suspect they may already know the cause — toxic Chinese drywall in their base housing.

Spc. Nathanael Duke and his wife, Krystyna, lost their 6-week-old son, Gabriel, in March. They say investigators removed chunks of drywall and carpeting and sent them to a lab.

“They told us the sample over Gabriel’s bed tested positive for Chinese drywall,” Krystyna Duke said in an interview with WTVD in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. The couple was told, “‘Get out of the house, seek medical attention, do not wait,'” her husband said.

Fort Bragg officials said Tuesday the probe started about a month ago after base authorities learned that two baby cousins had died within three months of each other at the same house. The investigation ultimately spread to 10 unexplained deaths since 2007. All of the children were younger than 8 months.

”We’re going to figure this out,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Garrett, chief of staff of the 18th Airborne Corps, according to The Associated Press. “We cannot explain two deaths of children at one address, and that’s really the problem we’re trying to solve.”

One death was attributed to sudden infant death syndrome, seven were ruled “undetermined” by military pathologists and two remain under investigation. The youngest child was 2 weeks old, the military said.

Base authorities said they would not release information about the parents or where they lived on the base.

But the parents are talking. On April 15, 2009, 2-month-old Jay’Vair Pollard stopped breathing. Three months later, his 7-month-old cousin, Ka’Mya Frey, died while taking a nap in the same housing unit, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“Unfortunately, our kids died before we had any idea what was going on with them,” said Ka’Mya’s mother, Bianca Outlaw. “I mean, there has to be something in that house that’s causing healthy babies to get sick and die.”

A third child who had stayed at the same address died in 2007. Authorities said that death occurred off the base.

According to WTVD, investigators said test results for the presence of Chinese drywall came back negative or within safe limits.

The overseas building material can emit high levels of sulfur gases, which act as a corrosive to wiring and fixtures. Unprecedented amounts were imported to help rebuild areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but complaints of foul odors and respiratory problems soon followed, trailed by class-action lawsuits.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has launched a federal investigation into the imported drywall and has received 3,482 complaints from across the country.