By Delayna Earley
A 21-year-old recruit from Decatur, Ga., died on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.
In the press release, officials said that Pfc. Noah Evans died during a physical fitness test.
He was a recruit assigned to the Mike Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment.
Evans’ cause of death is currently under investigation, according to the release.
His death has also been confirmed by Beaufort County coroner David Ott.
This is the fourth death that has occurred at Parris Island in the past two years.
Pfc. Dalton Beals, 19, of Pennsville, N.J., died of hyperthermia in June 2021 while completing the Crucible, which is the last part of a recruit’s training at Parris Island.
The Crucible is a physically taxing 54-hour exercise that recruits are required to complete before becoming Marines.
Beals’ drill, Staff Sgt. Steven Smiley, was charged with negligent homicide in November 2022 after an investigation discovered that Smiley did not follow protocols to stop training due to extreme heat on the day Beals died.
Pvt. Anthony Muñoz, 21, of Lawrence, Mass., died in September 2021 after falling from a balcony in an “apparent suicide,” according to MCRD Parris Island officials.
Pfc. Brandon Barnish, 26, of Evans, Ga., was found dead in September 2021 at the training depot.
