A Marine Corps drill instructor assigned to Marine Corps Recruit Depot-Parris Island was found dead in a hotel room in Starke, Florida, on May 30. He was Sgt. Albert Haynes II, 24, and the death is under investigation by the Bradford County Sheriff’s Department.

Haynes was in Florida to attend a poolee function with U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Station-Jacksonville, making the death all the more abrupt for a Marine who was on duty and away from his assigned post. The case now centers on what happened inside that hotel room and why a 24-year-old drill instructor ended up dead while traveling for a recruiting-related event.

Haynes was assigned to Lima Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, at the time of his death. He was a native of Austin, Pennsylvania, and had enlisted in the Marine Corps as an 0811 Field Artillery Cannoneer before going on to complete recruit training and Marine Combat Training.

After that, Haynes attended the Field Artillery Basic Course in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, before later serving as a drill instructor. His awards included the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a gold star in lieu of a second award, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with two bronze stars in lieu of a third award, and the National Defense Service Medal.

The Marine Corps identified the death as involving a drill instructor assigned to Marine Corps Recruit Depot-Parris Island, but it has not publicly said how he died. For now, the unanswered question is the one investigators are still working: what caused Haynes’ death in Starke, and whether the Bradford County Sheriff’s Department can determine that before the case goes cold.