Two Marines die at Camp Lejeune training base

JACKSONVILLE, N.C., Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marine Corps is investigating the deaths of two Marines at its Camp Lejeune, N.C., training base.

Cpl. Alexis Alcaraz, 22, of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Division, was found unresponsive during a training hike Thursday morning and died in the camp's hospital. On Friday, Lance Cpl. Ricardo Rodriguez, 25, of Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, who returned to the United States in July from serving in Africa, was found unconscious near his barracks and died after he was hospitalized. Rodriguez was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013.

Alcaraz and Rodriguez each were declared dead at Naval Hospital Camp Lejuene. The causes of both deaths are under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The Marine Corps offered no other information.