HAMPSTEAD, N.H. — Skeletal remains found in New Hampshire on Saturday are believed to be a man who has been missing since July.
The remains were found in a swampy area of Hampstead between Emerson Avenue and Route 111, according to a release Sunday from Hampstead police. A conservation officer training with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department located the remains using a drone, the department said.
Positive identification of the body will be made by the chief medical examiner's office in New Hampshire, but officials believe it is John Matson, who was last seen July 2022 in the same area.
Matson was 79 at the time he was reported missing, and officials said he suffered from dementia.
Hampstead police said their preliminary investigation leads them to believe foul play was not involved.
Police said recovering the remains, which were about 500 feet from dry land, was not easy and "included wading through chest deep water and enduring the heavy rain." It took a five-person search team nearly 30 minutes to locate the remains and nearly three hours to create a path so the remains could be carried out.
Sunday's update comes after a variety of searches over the past several months, including several canine searches, grid searches, drone searches, and a helicopter search.
"The mystery of John Matson has weighed heavily on this community for the past 10 months. There was not a day that went by, where Mr. Matson and his family were not on the minds of our community, this police department and many more," Hampstead police said. "Once these remains have been positively identified, we hope this will give the Matson family the closure they deserve."
