A 16-year-old girl is dead and another is hospitalized after an incident early Sunday on Fort Lewis.

Officials are trying to find out what the girls, both civilians, were doing on post and what killed one and sickened the other.

According to Fort Lewis public affairs officer Joseph Piek, emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from a barracks around 3:30 a.m. Sunday. They found two teen girls unresponsive.

“There were no outward signs of physical trauma,” Piek said.

A doctor from Madigan Army Medical Center declared one girl dead at the scene. Responders took the second girl to Madigan, where she was in stable condition Monday evening.

The Fort Lewis Criminal Investigation Division is working on the case, and investigators have contacted the families of both teens.

“They were two 16-year-old civilians who, as far as we can tell, have no Department of Defense or military affiliation,” Piek said.

Both girls lived in the South Puget Sound region, Piek said, though he could not be more specific.

Investigators are not naming the girls “due to their ages, their civilian status, and the nature of the ongoing investigation,” Piek said.

Their families will make the choice about releasing their names. The military has offered both families chaplaincy and social work services.

“On behalf of the entire Fort Lewis community and leadership, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of the young lady who died, and concern for the young lady who is receiving medical care,” Piek said.

The surviving teen has responded well to that care, is in stable condition and likely will remain at Madigan for the next few days, Piek said.

The investigation is addressing two issues: What injured one girl and killed the other? And how did the teens get on post and end up in a barracks so late at night?

A soldier who allegedly knew at least one of the girls has been questioned, but not detained. Madigan’s doctors are treating the surviving girl with success, countering the effects of whatever got into her system. An autopsy on the dead teen has been performed by the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. But, because toxicology tests take time, Piek said, it could be weeks before an official cause of death is determined.

Meanwhile, Piek said, “a review of installation policies and procedures is already under way.

“We will be looking at the installation’s access policy, especially access to the post by minors. Leadership will also be taking a look at Fort Lewis’ barracks visitation policies. We will look at where the facts in this case lead us, to see if we need to make changes in policies.”

Under current rules, civilian minors are allowed into Fort Lewis if they are sponsored by an authorized Department of Defense ID holder.

“Civilians are authorized access to the barracks to visit friends who might be soldiers,” Piek said. “When and what days are governed by the unit’s barracks policy. Usually that means only on certain days and up to certain times, and then they should be gone. It would seem that 3:30 a.m. would be a likely violation of any unit’s policy.”

The Criminal Investigation Division is trying to determine when the girls came on post, with whom, where they went and what they did.

When they were found unresponsive in the barracks at 3:30 a.m., the 911 call came in from the staff duty desk. Piek did not have information on whether they were found in a soldier’s room or in a more public area.

“It’s hard to make sense of this,” said Piek, whose eldest child, a son, is 16.

“Fort Lewis’ senior leaders consider this a very tragic event,” he said.

Kathleen Merryman: 253-597-8677

kathleen.merryman@thenewstribune.com