As rain and wind buffeted Fort Worden’s bluffs Dec. 19, 118 people from multiple jurisdictions searched the grounds, air and seas for a missing Army soldier who had, according to family, threatened to kill himself there.

But as the search revealed very few clues, it was a parallel investigation run by detectives from the Port Townsend Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office that uncovered what had actually happened to 19-year-old Devin Mitchell Schmidt, who had failed to report for duty at Joint Base Lewis McCord that morning.

“We were actually running two separate investigations,” said Derek Allen, a detective with the Sheriff’s Office. “During that there were clues and information we found on both sides of it—during the search and during the criminal investigation—that led us to believe that as we were nearing the end of our search for the day that it was likely the subject we were looking for as suicidal...was more likely missing.”

Schmidt had sent family members a video on Dec. 18 that suggested he planned to kill himself. His mother lives in the Port Townsend area. Family members recognized Fort Worden in the background and began searching there.

His cousin, Ryen Bell, found the only items Schmidt had left behind: his Army dog tags and a phone, sitting on the bluff near the Fort’s bunkers.

That night, family called Port Townsend police, who mobilized local law enforcement, the U.S. Navy, Washington State Patrol, Coast Guard and Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife mobilized aircraft, boats and ground to scour the shoreline and tall bluffs for Schmidt in an all-day search on Dec. 19.

But detectives were running another investigation at the same time as the search, something that is not unusual for missing people cases, said Sheriff Joe Nole.

Detectives will begin investigating beyond the search, he said, asking themselves questions like: what if Schmidt was never at the Fort at all? What if he had not planned on killing himself? What if there was more to the story?

While the search was underway, detectives Derek Allen, Jon Stuart, Ash Moore, Art Frank and Joe Pursley conducted interviews with Schmidt’s friends and family members.

It was through these interviews that they realized it was possible Schmidt was still alive and communicating with his cousin, Ryen Bell, who had been the one to come searching for him at Fort Worden.

Police say Bell drove to Port Townsend and found Schmidt’s cell phone and Army dog tags at the scene. Talking to Schmidt’s father, Bell urged him to call the police, which he did, triggering the search.

A probable cause statement from Port Townsend Police Detective Ash Moore stated that Bell, 20, from Bonney Lake, admitted he had prior knowledge that his cousin planned to fake his own death and “disappear.”

“Bell explained that he attempted to deter Schmidt from enacting his plan, but he could not be deterred,” wrote Moore in the probable cause statement. “Bell stated that he went along with his plan because he is a loyal lifelong friend and he knew that Schmidt was going to do it with or without him.”

According to Allen, their investigation led them to believe that Bell and Schmidt were going to meet up at 6 p.m. at the McDonald’s in Port Townsend.

Detectives Allen and Stuart apprehended Schmidt there, sitting in a booth around 5:30 p.m.

“He was hunkered down in a corner seat of a booth,” Allen said. “He had a hat on with his hood up and the cinch cords pulled tight.”

There they arrested him, and advised fellow deputies to arrest Bell. After interviewing them both, Schmidt was taken into the custody of his commanding officer from Joint Base Lewis McCord. The investigation into his case is now being handled by the U.S. Army, the Coast Guard and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Allen said.

Bell was placed in the Jefferson County Jail and at a hearing on Dec. 20, Superior Court Judge Keith Harper set his bail at $25,000.

Bell was charged with perjury in the second degree with the intent to mislead a public servant, making false or misleading statements to a public servant and false reporting.

Defense attorney Nat Jacob argued at Bell’s hearing that he made the false statements with a “misplaced sense of loyalty to his cousin.”

Jacob said that Bell has no prior criminal history and therefore should be released without bail.

But Kennedy argued that it was reported that Bell had made plans with Schmidt to go to Mexico after they successfully pulled off Schmidt’s plan.

Superior Court Judge Keith Harper stated that what concerned the court was the suggestion that Schmidt and Bell were planning to go to Mexico.

“That suggests to me that you may very likely not appear for court when you’re supposed to be here and that you may abscond,” Harper said.

Harper took the state’s suggestion and set the bail at $25,000. He also required Bell to turn over his passport to the state upon release and that he have no further contact with Schmidt.

Bell’s arraignment was set for 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 27 at the Jefferson County Superior Court.

According to Detective Allen, the cost of the all-day search is estimated at $400,000.

Not only that, but it put search and rescue crews’ lives in danger.

“We had 30 mile-per-hour winds, heavy precipitation, and six-foot seas with wind swells,” he said. “It was extremely dangerous for both the air assets and the marine assets.”

Schmidt’s mother, Dana Lammers, said that there are some mental health issues involved with the case, for both Schmidt and Bell.

“The layers are so deep,” she wrote on her Facebook. “I want everyone to know the results of our son being found safe and alive are rare. The story does not typically unfold this way, my heart raced with the expectation and news that they were going to find our son’s lifeless body. What happened was a force of resources that worked hard to uncover the truth.”

Lammers said she was grateful for all the resources used to find her son and the support of the community.

She did not want to speak with The Leader at this time, but said she plans to in the coming weeks so that her son’s story can be told in full.