Body Of Reston Man Missing For Over 1 Year Found: Police

RESTON, VA — Fairfax County Police confirmed Friday afternoon that its Search and Rescue team had discovered the skeletal remains of Michael Delaney, 75, on Wednesday in the area of Sugarland Run, according to a post on the department's official Facebook page.

Delaney was the subject of an extensive search last year, after he went missing May 10, 2020 from Reston Hospital Center.

In the days following Delaney's disappearance, search and rescue teams from the Shenandoah Mountain Rescue Group from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and Prince William County Police combed the area around the hospital looking for him. FCPD suspended its search on May 14, 2020.

The Search and Rescue team returned to the Sugarland Run area after someone reported finding what appeared to be skeletal remains there, according to the Facebook post. Officers found clothing that matched a description of what Delaney had been wearing at the time of his disappearance.

The county's Crime Scene Section collected the remains, and the Office of the Chief Medial Examiner identified them by comparing them with Delaney's dental records. No foul play is suspected in his death.

Maj. Ed O’Carroll, commander of the Major Crimes and Cyber and Forensics Bureaus, offered the department's condolences.

“On behalf of the Major Crimes Bureau, my heartfelt condolences go out to the family and Friends of Mr. Delaney," he said, in the Facebook post. "We are incredibly sorry for your loss."

O'Carroll went on to thank the Search and Rescue team and the investigators involved in the case. He also expressed his gratitude to everyone who had helped in the search."

"A special thank you to the many volunteers and to the other public and private entities who assisted with searching over 5,000 acres since the time Mr. Delaney went missing," he said. "This is not the resolution our detectives and our agency hoped for and our hearts remain with the Delaney family.”