Police I.D. Skeletal Remains Found Near Missing Hudson Valley Man’s Car
A three-state search for a missing elderly Hudson Valley man spanning eight months is over.
On Saturday August 27, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a vehicle in the woods less than a mile from Dailey Road in the Town of Cochecton.
The caller believed that the vehicle belonged to 76-year-old Lawrence Molinaro of Cochecton who went missing just after Christmas 2016.
Skeletal remains were found at the scene. Clothing and other items found at the scene matched what police were told Molinaro might have been wearing when he went missing, police say.
Following an autopsy, police confirmed the remains belonged to Molinaro.
“We can now confirm that the skeletal remains discovered at the scene were in fact those of Mr. Molinaro”, Sullivan County Sheriff Mike Schiff said. “Positive identification was made through a serial number on a shoulder implant that Mr. Molinaro had received several years ago”.
It’s believed that the 76-year-old become disoriented when he drove his SUV less than a mile into the woods on the property of the Bar 25 Hunting Club, police say.
The investigation indicates no foul play, officials say.
Molinaro was last seen by a neighbor on December 27, 2016. He was reported missing two days later, after he missed a doctor’s appointment at Catskill Regional Medical Center.
Molinaro was known to visit the Honesdale, P.A. area. He also has relatives in Staten Island and Howell, N.J.
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