APOPKA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
An Apopka mom has a military mystery on her hands. The military and her son will not tell her why he went AWOL from the U.S. Marines.
Ilka Deason and her daughter still read the letters her son Cliff Deason sent from basic training at Camp Lejeune. Now she lays awake in bed at night, trying to figure out why her son went AWOL.
She says. "I don't know what to think. My mind goes around in circles. This whole behavior does not mention anything he's ever done."
Cliff was an engineering student at Apopka High, president of the investing club at the University of Florida. Mom says her son had record high scores on the qualifying test to become a marine.
The Marines say Deason deserted on June 12th, but neither the military nor her son will say where he went for the next 41 days. He turned himself into Apopka Police Monday and spent this week at the Orange County Jail.
Mom says, "I really would like to be able to see him face to face and ask him what is going on."
The jail's policies on new inmates prevented Mrs. Deason from getting a video visitation with her son. The jail chaplain saw him Wednesday but Cliff offered no clues on what happened.
She says, "We got no response at all. He was very stoic, just quiet. He didn't say anything."
Military police went to Orlando Thursday to take Cliff Deason back to Camp LeJeune. It's not clear what discipline he will face.
