Maryland State Police do not suspect foul play and are awaiting positive identification as they continue their investigation into the death of a man believed to be missing from Pennsylvania whose body was found yesterday in Queen Anne’s County.
The body is tentatively identified as Michael J. Gross, 48 years of age, of the 5000 block of North Salem Church Road, Dover, PA. Forensic examinations are underway at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore to positively identify him.
On March 6, 2012, a Maryland State Police trooper from the Centreville Barrack checked out an abandoned Jeep Grand Cherokee found on Lake Drive off Rt. 50 in Wye Mills, Md. The vehicle was still there a week later and was stored by troopers as abandoned. While attempting to notify the registered owner, Michael Gross, troopers learned the family had lost contact with him in late February when he left Pennsylvania. Maryland troopers initiated a missing person investigation and a search for Gross began.
Both ground and aerial searches of the area in the vicinity the car was found were conducted, but no one was located. Yesterday, troopers from the Centreville Barrack enlisted assistance of the Maryland State Police Special Operations Division to conduct a grid search of the area. Cadaver dogs from the Natural Resources Police were brought in to assist in the search.
At about 2:05 p.m. yesterday, the search team found the body of the man believed to be Gross lying in a wooded area about 150 yards from where his vehicle had been previously found. The body was fully clothed and investigators found no immediately obvious signs of trauma or foul play.
The body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy. In addition to the positive identification, the autopsy is expected to reveal the cause and manner of death.
The investigation is continuing.
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