AWOL Soldiers’ Cross-Country Trip Turns Deadly

Law And Crime Investigations · Jan 24, 2026 · 28m

A veteran who had recently relocated to New Mexico was last heard from on July 26, 2025. When Matthew McLaughlin stopped responding to his family and missed regular check-ins with his mother, he was reported missing on July 31. Posters featuring the young veteran began appearing across Morgan County and online as friends and family desperately searched for answers. The investigation took a dark turn one month later when deputies from the Taos County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at Matthew’s residence in Tres Piedras, where he lived with his two roommates, who previously…