CUDDEBACKVILLE, NY — A Glen Spey man who was missing for more than a week has been found dead in a marsh in the Town of Forestburgh, according to a press release from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department.

Harold Hoyt, age 35 and a father of two young children, 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 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 man. Sheriff Mike Schiff said the resources that were deployed over the 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.”

In the afternoon of Friday, April 7, search and rescue teams were directed to a “search grid” in a marsh where Harold Hoyt’s cellphone may have passed through. Rescuers cut a path through the marsh using chainsaws after a body was spotted in heavy vegetation. At about 3:30 p.m. the 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 the federal, state and local agencies who assisted in the search. “We could not have done it without you” said the sheriff. The investigation is continuing.

“Harold was a father of two,” wrote Jennifer Nicholas, Hoyt’s sister, on a GoFundMe page to support his family (https://gf.me/v/c/gfm/harold-hoyt). “He had alot of friends and family that loved him dearly and who haven’t given up searching for him over the last 9 days. This is not the outcome we wanted nor expected… We want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for helping us bring Harold home.”