Police teams led by the Morris County police department in New Jersey are investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of David Bird, a Wall Street Journal reporter whose body was found along the Passaic River 14 months after he was reported missing.
Positive identification of Bird's body was made through dental records, said a joint statement released by Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp and Long Hill Township Police Chief Michael Mazzeo.
The identification was made by Dr. Carlos Fonseca of the Morris County Medical Examiner's Office and forensic ondotologist Mitchell Kirshbaum.
At this time, police said the Medical Examiner's investigation into the cause and manner of death is ongoing. No other details about the investigation have been released.
Bird, a resident of Longhill Township (a part of Morris County), disappeared on Jan. 11, 2014 after telling his family he was going out for a walk. He never returned. Bird was 55 when he disappeared.
His wife, Nancy, said he left his home on Long Hill Road without his mobile phone or the medicine he needed to take after undergoing a liver transplant. Bird, an avid hiker, was wearing glasses, a red jacket, blue jeans, sneakers, a hat with a flashlight strapped to it, said my CentralJersey.
Bird's remains were recovered from the Passaic River by dive teams March 18 about a mile from where he vanished. On the afternoon of the same day, two men canoeing the Passaic River came across a red jacket located near branches.
The men notified the Bernards Township Police Department that then recovered the body assisted by police and fire department units involved in the multi-agency search.
"The Bird family would like to thank the many members of law enforcement, especially Chief Michael Mazzeo and the Long Hill Township Police Department, for their tireless efforts to find David," said the family in a statement.
"They would also like to thank the countless friends, neighbors and strangers who have prayed for David and for the family over the past 14 months".