Missing Conn. man found dead 9 years later after living in N.Y. with new name, police say

A Connecticut man who went missing nearly a decade ago has been found dead in New York state, where he had been living under another name, police said.

Robert Hoagland of Sandy Hook was reported missing in 2013 after failing to pick up his wife from John F. Kennedy Airport or report to work. His body was found Monday in Sullivan County, N.Y., where he had apparently been living as Richard King, the Newtown Police Department said Wednesday.

Police say they were contacted by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department on Monday after responding to “an untimely death of a male at a residence in Rock Hill, N.Y.”

“They initially could not identify the male but found papers showing the name Robert Hoagland,” police said in a statement.

Newtown detectives confirmed the body was indeed Hoagland’s and found he’d been living in Sullivan County since about November 2013.

Hoagland left behind three sons in their 20s, as well as wife Lori Hoagland, the Danbury News Times reported.

Intensive efforts were made to find him. A Facebook group, “Help us Find Hoagy,” used his nickname to coordinate the effort, though it had not posted since 2014. He also was the subject of a 2016 documentary, “Disappeared,” which aired on Investigation Discovery. He was 50 when he vanished.

The man’s remains are being autopsied, but police saw no signs of foul play, the Newtown Police statement said.

“The Newtown Police Department sends its condolences to Robert Hoagland’s family and friends,” the department said. “The family requests that their privacy be respected during this difficult time. The police department does not plan to release any further information as there was no criminal aspect to Robert Hoagland’s disappearance.”