When 39-year-old Lance Melder would return home to Temple, Texas, his mere presence would lift his family's spirits.
Melder was considered a celebrity at home, and everyone looked up to him. From his fellow soldiers to strangers at gas stations, Melder was an instant friend, his wife, Alyssa Melder, told The News Tribune.
Melder was driving on Interstate 5 at milepost 132 north of the Tacoma Mall area when his vehicle was hit from behind March 30. Melder died at the scene. The driver who hit him was driving a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado and immediately ditched the car. That person then carjacked a white GMC Acadia and drove off.
There have been no arrests, but Alyssa Melder said that authorities have identified some possible suspects. The News Tribune was unable to reach Washington State Patrol for an update on the crash.
Lance Melder was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord at the time as a tanker and had been in the Army since 2006.
Alyssa Melder said the crash happened on a Saturday, and she was not immediately notified. She began to worry when she had not heard from her husband by Monday. She made some calls, and a police officer spoke to her saying he would find out where her husband was.
The officer said he would check his room, and that was the last time she spoke to him. Alyssa Melder said she called the officer back and soon realized what it meant when he did not answer.
Alyssa Melder said that the officer could not speak to her until uniformed soldiers went to her home and knocked on her door to inform her that her husband was dead.
"So I knew that, when he didn't answer, I was pretty much just waiting for those men," she said. "And then they came and knocked on my door after my kids got home and told me what happened."
Alyssa and Lance Melder met over MySpace and made an instant connection, she said. They had been married for 14 and a half years at the time of her husband's death and had four children together.
Alyssa Melder and her children planned to move to Washington after the kids finished the school year in Texas. Lance Melder had been stationed at JBLM since August 2023.
"The kids are also not doing very well," she said. "When I tell you he was a hot commodity in our house, I mean it. He was definitely a favorite. He was our celebrity."
Alyssa Melder said that her husband's sister is the last person on her husband's immediate side of the family.
"Everybody is taking it really hard. So as far as on his side, he only has a sister. His parents have both passed now and, so obviously, she's reeling from now having no more family members," she said.
Alyssa Melder said that she spent this week in Washington packing up his belongings. JBLM has planned a unit memorial on Thursday for Lance Melder.
"I promise I'm not biased. He was an exceptional soldier, a great leader. All his guys really looked up to him. They even now are like, you know, he left a legacy," she said.
Alyssa Melder said she has been asking detectives questions and learned that there were not any cameras in the area where the hit-and-run occurred.
"The man hit my husband, flagged someone down and stole another vehicle. I feel like you would have seen him if there were cameras," she said.
Alyssa Melder said she believes there should be more cameras on I-5 so that more crashes and fatalities can be captured and used for evidence to help the victims.
When it comes to justice, Alyssa Melder said initially she did not want to give much energy to the culprit.
"They already took my person, my best friend," she said. " I believe in God and I believe that regardless, this person is going to live in their own hell."
Alyssa Melder does not want the person who hit her husband to be out in the world and to "take someone else's person away from them."
"If nothing else, then I could have some answers, some peace of mind because I feel like having more questions than answers has made this harder for me," she said.
Since the day they found out her husband died, Alyssa Melder said, her and her family have been "floating" through.
"He was loved and not just by us, but by his guys and everyone he met." she said. "I feel silly being like, you know, he was this great, grand person. He was."
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