Media release on missing person: On July 5th, 2011, Manchester Police Department took a preliminary investigative report on a missing person, Leo Paul George Massicotte III. Mr. Massicotte was last seen on July 3rd exiting a vehicle and walking in the direction of A.E.D.C. property towards the Hillsboro area. Investigator Ray “Butch” Stewart was assigned the case and began searching for Mr. Massicotte. Manchester Police, along with surrounding agencies performed a search on A.E.D.C. property. That search did not result in locating any evidence. Several interviews were performed by Inv. Stewart and other members of the Manchester Police Department. When all leads and interviews were exhausted, outside resources were utilized, in cooperation with inv. Stewart and were also unsuccessful. Investigator Jason Kennedy, (with M.P.D. at the time) was assigned to assist Inv. Stewart with the case, and this past Spring, in another effort to locate Mr. Massicotte, performed a second search of the A.E.D.C. area. Cellular phone forensics identified the area of the search as the last place the cell phone Mr. Massicotte was carrying was active. After several days of exhaustive searches, Manchester Police, along with several other agencies, were unable to locate any evidence and/or remains. On November 10th, 2014, Manchester Police was notified by Arnold Police (A.E.D.C.) of human remains found by hunters in the same general area of the past searches. The scene was secured and the investigation began to identify the remains and to search for any evidence related. Several agencies were involved in the investigation: Manchester Police C.I.D., Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, Arnold Police, O.S.I., Air Force Investigations, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, Tennessee Highway Patrol (C.I.R.T. team), Dr. Berryman along with M.T.S.U. Forensic Anthropology Search and Recovery Team and the State Medical Examiner’s Office. The scene was processed and the remains were recovered and removed by the forensic team and medical examiner’s office. During the initial investigation, DNA samples from the Massicotte family were sent to the University of Texas for a DNA profile in the event that remains were found and not identifiable. M.T.S.U. Forensic Anthropology Department was tasked with extracting the DNA from the remains. Both the University of Texas and M.T.S.U. agreed to compare information and determine if the remains located at A.E.D.C. were that of Leo Paul George Massicotte III. Based on the DNA profile and the DNA extracted from the remains, it is confirmed that these are the remains of Mr. Massicotte. Based on the evidence from the scene, the remains and the investigation, there is no suspected foul play connected with Mr. Massicotte’s death. This missing person case is considered closed. We are remorseful for the Massicotte family, our thoughts and prayers will be with them during this difficult time. Manchester Police Department
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 21:23:23 +0000