U.S. soldier arrested on suspicion of espionage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier has been arrested at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on suspicion of espionage, an Army spokesman said on Tuesday.

Specialist William Colton Millay, a 22-year-old military policeman, was taken into custody on Oct. 28, Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bill Coppernoll told Reuters.

Coppernoll said Millay, of Owensboro, Kentucky, was arrested following a joint espionage investigation conducted by the FBI and Army Counterintelligence special agents.

Coppernoll did not immediately say who Millay was suspected of spying for or what sensitive information he may have had access to. He said the investigation was ongoing.

A spokesman for the Anchorage Correctional Complex said that Millay was being held there on a federal charge.

"Today's arrest was the result of a close working relationship between the FBI and its military partners in Alaska," Mary Rook, special agent in charge of the FBI in Alaska, said in a brief written statement.

"Through this ongoing partnership, we are better able to protect our nation," Rook said.

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a combined Army and U.S. Air Force facility near Anchorage.