CUDDEBACKVILLE – A Glen Spey man who has been missing for more than a week has been found dead in a marsh in the Town of Forestburgh.

Harold Hoyt, age 35, was reported missing by a friend on March 31 after the car the pair was riding in ran out of gas on a logging trail off of Galligan Road near the Camp Turrell Boy Scout Reservation. Hoyt’s friend was able to make it to a nearby road but Harold Hoyt apparently became lost in the woods.

Numerous search and rescue teams from law enforcement, fire, EMS and volunteer organizations from around the tristate region descended on the area to help look for the missing father of two young children. Sheriff Mike Schiff said the resources that were deployed over the past week were very impressive and included ATVs, UTVs, drones, a state police helicopter and several canine teams. The search was coordinated by the New York State Forest Rangers who used sophisticated GPS tracking methods to direct responders in the “defined search area”.

On Friday afternoon, April 7,  search and rescue teams were directed to a “search grid” in a marsh where Harold Hoyt’s cell phone may have passed through. Rescuers cut a path through the marsh using chains saws after a body was spotted in heavy vegetation.

At about 3:30 p.m., the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Harold Hoyt had been found. He was pronounced dead by Sullivan County Coroner Alan Kesten. After the State Police Forensic Investigation Unit examined the scene, Hoyt’s body was removed to the morgue pending an autopsy.

“This is a really sad time for the family”, said Schiff. “They waited patiently at the scene the entire time, hoping for any news. Unfortunately, it ended tragically”, said the sheriff.

 Schiff thanked all of the federal, state and local agencies who assisted in the search. “We could not have done it without you,”  the Sheriff said. The investigation is continuing.