Iowa Senator Joni Ernst. (file photo)
Senator Joni Ernst has asked Veterans Affairs officials to explain how the agency handled the case of a veteran whose frozen body was found last Friday in a Des Moines park.
Forty-one-year-old Richard Miles was an Army veteran who did three tours of duty in the Middle East. His family says he suffered from post traumatic stress and had hoped to be admitted to the Central Iowa VA Hospital on February 15, but he was given a prescription and dismissed.
“While the law enforcement investigation into Richard’s death is ongoing, it’s tragic our nation lost a veteran who may not have received the mental health treatment that he deserved.”
Ernst on Monday asked for an “immediate and thorough” investigation of the man’s case and she set today as her deadline for getting a report back from the VA.
“As a member of the Senate I do have a responsibility to ensure our nation lives up the promises that our nation lives up to the promises that it has made to our veterans,” Ernst says. “And as someone who was deployed in the Iraq War, it’s one of my top priorities to ensure our veterans are receiving the care they deserve after they have selflessly sacrificed for our nation.”
Five days after Miles was dismissed from the Central Iowa VA, his body was found by a man walking a dog in Des Moines Water Works Park. Miles was not wearing a coat or shoes when his body was found.