A man who vanished from Connecticut nearly 10 years ago and whose high-profile disappearance was featured on television has been found dead in upstate New York, where he apparently lived under a different name.
Robert Hoagland was last seen the morning of July 28, 2013, at a gas station in Newtown, Connecticut, local police said.
The next day, police were called to check on him after he failed to pick up a family member from the airport and failed to show up for work.
Police found Hoagland's wallet, medication and cellphone at his residence, as well as the family cars, but no trace of Hoagland.
For years the case remained open, and potential sightings of Hoagland were reported and investigated nationwide, Newtown police said.
His disappearance made headlines and was featured on the Investigation Discovery TV series “Disappeared.”
Nearly 10 years on, the mystery of his disappearance has finally been cracked: Hoagland apparently moved to upstate New York and lived under the new name Richard King.
The discovery of Hoagland after all these years came as a shock to his family, who were left with more questions than answers.
“It’s pretty confusing. We’re trying to handle it right now to be honest. Haven’t really figured out any details,” Christopher Hoagland, Robert’s son, said Thursday.
Christopher, who lives in Minnesota, will travel to Connecticut or New York soon to meet with his family, adding that they don’t know what motivated Hoagland to leave.
On Monday, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office in New York contacted Newtown police saying that they responded to “an untimely death” of a man at a residence in Rock Hill, New York, and that, while they couldn't identify him initially, they found papers bearing the name Robert Hoagland.
Investigators looked into the name and found he was missing from Newtown.
Newtown police detectives met with the Sullivan County sheriff’s officials Tuesday and confirmed Hoagland’s identity. He was 59 years old at the time of his death, police said.
They learned that Hoagland had been living under the new name in Sullivan County since around November 2013.
His remains were taken to the coroner for an autopsy. Police said there were no signs of foul play.
Police said that “there was no criminal aspect” to Hoagland’s disappearance and that no further information would be released "out of respect to the family."
NBC News has asked the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office and coroner for comment.
