A young autistic man from New York was found dead on a Brooklyn golf course on Thursday, bringing an end to an intense search that lasted 44 days.
Brian Gewirtz, missing since February, was confirmed as the person found dead at around 4:30 p.m. Thursday on the golf course in the Marine Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, the New York Police Department told CBS New York.
The 20-year-old was last seen at his Marine Park home on Feb. 17. Police and his family scoured the city for weeks, posting notices and searching nearby hospitals and homeless shelters, the Brooklyn Daily reported.
An autopsy is underway to determine how Gewirtz died. According to Donnell Nichols, who organized searches for Gewirtz, he could have wandered onto the golf course when it was closed in February and later suffered from exposure to the cold, WABC reported.
His parents also told the station Gewirtz, who reportedly suffered from anxiety, could have been confused and unable to seek help due to his special needs.
The case is eerily similar to another missing person with autism, 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo, who was missing for months before his remains were found in the East River in January 2014.
