Drone finds human remains while flying over a swamp, New Hampshire officials say
A drone found skeletal remains while flying over a thick, marshy swamp that proved “nearly impossible” to navigate on the ground, New Hampshire officials say.
The discovery was made by a New Hampshire conservation officer who was flying a drone on April 22 in Hampstead near where a missing man was last seen, according to the state’s Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division.
The remains are likely John Matson, who went missing on July 6, the Hampstead Police Department announced in an April 23 news release.
For nearly 300 days, authorities have searched for Watson on the ground, with canines, in multiple swamps and a lake, and by air using helicopters, according to police.
“The mystery of John Matson has weighed heavily on this community for the past 10 months,” police said. “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.”
On April 22, Fish and Game conservation officer Rob McDermott went out in Hampstead with an agency drone and captured footage of skeletal remains and clothes, authorities said.
After the drone pinpointed a GPS location, three Hampstead police officers and two Fish and Game officers waded into the dense swampy waters in the pouring rain and made it to the remains that were roughly 500 feet from “dry land,” according to police.
It took about 30 minutes for officers to reach the remains and three hours to remove them from the swamp, police said.
Officers had to landscape a path through the swamp’s marshes so the remains could be “carried out,” according to police.
“It is apparent that once the trees and brush in this area begin to bloom, it would be impossible to locate these remains from the air,” police said.
The New Hampshire Medical Examiner’s Office will identify the remains, the Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division said.
In regards to how Matson died, police said they don’t believe foul play was involved.
“Once these remains have been positively identified, we hope this will give the Matson family the closure they deserve,” police said.
Hampstead is about 40 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts.
This story was originally published April 24, 2023 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Drone finds human remains while flying over a swamp, New Hampshire officials say."
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