Police: Human skeletal remains found in Southbury
SOUTHBURY — Human skeletal remains were discovered Monday morning in a wooded area near Berkshire Road during a police search for 63-yearold Mark Gasso, who has been missing since April.
The additional search was scheduled to take place this time of year “since the foliage had dropped, enhancing visibility,” according to a news release from the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crime Squad, which conducted the search with members of the State Police Emergency Services Search & Rescue K9 Unit and Dive Team, FBI Task Force officers, Southbury police and detectives for the Naugatuck Police Department.
Authorities found the human skeletal remains 20 minutes into the search, which began at 9:30 a.m. The remains have not yet been identified.
State police did not provide any information on where exactly the remains were located other than that they were found in a
wooded area.
The scene was processed by the Western District Major Crime Squad and the remains were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington for examination and identification.
Police say the investigation into Gasso’s disappearance is ongoing.
A silver alert was issued for Gasso on April 19, after a co-worker went to his Berkshire Road home to check on Gasso after he failed to show up to work that day.
The co-worker told police Gasso was nowhere to be found, but his truck was in the driveway, the shower was on and his cell phone and wallet were also there, according to an investigation report.
The report notes that the co-worker had last exchanged text messages with Gasso on April 16, and that Gasso did not respond to a text sent April 18.
The co-worker called police after arriving at Gasso’s residence April 19, and entering through an unlocked door.
At the residence, police said there were “no apparent signs of a struggle inside the dwelling.”
A state police K-9 was brought in to search his residence and the surrounding wooded area, but the track yielded no results. Police said another search was conducted the following day, but that also yielded no results.
Gasso’s disappearance is being investigated by the Southbury Police Department and Connecticut State Police’s Western District Major Crimes Unit, and anyone with information is urged to call 203-264-5912. Police say all calls will be kept confidential.