1 of Marines killed in Nev. lived in MI

OTSEGO, Mich. (WOOD) - One of the eight Marines killed in a mortar blast during training in Nevada once lived in Michigan.

Lance Corporal Joshua Taylor, 21, once lived in the Otsego and Martin areas, family members told 24 Hour News 8. He was currently residing in Ohio.

His fiancee Abby Malone said the two were planning to marry in May.

Malone told 24 Hour News 8 she is "more proud than I can say."

Taylor was described as a devout and faithful Christian.

According to the Associated Press, the explosion occurred Monday night at the Hawthorne Army Depot, a facility used by troops heading overseas. The rescue of the wounded Marines was complicated by the remoteness of the site, which is favored because the harsh geography simulates conditions in Afghanistan.

The mortar round exploded in its firing tube during the exercise, said Brigadier General Jim Lukeman at a news conference in North Carolina, where the Marines are based. He said investigators are trying to determine the cause of the malfunction.

It was not immediately clear whether more than a single round exploded, a Marine Corps official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation.

The Marine Corps said early Tuesday that seven Marines were killed. Eight men under the age of 30 were taken to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. One of them died, four were in serious condition, two were in fair condition and another was discharged, said spokesman Mark Earnest.

John Stroud, national junior vice commander in chief for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, began a memorial event in Hawthorne on Tuesday night by saying "one of the critical has passed," bringing the death toll to eight. Mourners then laid eight floral arrangements at a park where a flag flew at half-staff within sight of the Hawthorne depot's boundary.