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On Sunday, April 23, Hampstead authorities announced that they have recovered what is believed to be the body of John Matson, a 79-year-old New Hampshire man who has been missing since July 2022. The remains were discovered in a swamp near Emerson Avenue.
While authorities have not confirmed the identity of the corpse, they have strong reason to believe it is Matson's due to the location where it was recovered. The cause of death currently remains unknown.
John Matson was suffering from dementia at the time of his disappearance, and he was last seen in the area where the body was discovered. Officials have not reported any suspicion of foul play in the case.
The investigation into John Matson's disappearance
According to Hampstead authorities, they searched for John Matson for over 10 months following his disappearance. WMUR reported that this included door-to-door canvassing, drone searches, canine searches, grid searches, as well as the use of sonar technology and dives across several lakes and swamps.
They noted that John Matson was last seen walking in the Emerson village on June 6, a day before his wife reported him missing.
However, officials said that despite the fact that he suffered from dementia, people who saw Matson that day said that they felt there was no cause for worry. They told police that he showed no signs of confusion or disorientation, which led them to believe he was in the right condition to walk around by himself.
In an official statement, Hampstead's Deputy Police Chief commented on the discovery of the body. He said that last week, a drone picked up signs of what appeared to be skeletal remains and clothing near the swamp. The body was recovered approximately 500 feet from dry land. After authorities noticed this, a 5-person team was deployed in order to carry out a search in the area.
Authorities added that after they located the general vicinity of the body, it took the search team almost three hours to cut through vegetation in order to recover the corpse. They added:
“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. Once these remains have been positively identified, we hope this will give the Matson family the closure they deserve.”
The skeletal remains are currently with the New Hampshire Medical Examiner's office. Matson's family has been notified of the discovery.
