A missing Illinois man was found by his wife “mummified” in the storage space of his “hoarder home” eight months after he went missing in 2022.
The Troy Police Department had asked for help from the public to look for 53-year-old Richard Maedge after his wife Jennifer Maedge reported him missing on the afternoon of April 27.
Police said that the man had told his wife he was leaving early for work that morning and that when he went missing, his car was at their home and his wallet and keys were left behind.
After eight months of looking for her husband, Jennifer Maedge said in December that the search was called off, and she was mourning her husband. She had gone to a storage space to look for a tote containing Christmas decorations and found his body.
A report from Madison County Coroner Steve Nonn released Thursday said that the man had died from suicide.
Kelly Rogers, the county’s chief deputy coroner, told KTVI-TV that the man’s body had decomposed to the point where it was in a state of mummification because the fluids in the body had dried up completely.
Rogers said that police had described the home as a “hoarder home” when they initially searched it looking for the missing husband.
Sometime between the time he went missing and when his body was found, Richard Maedge’s wife had called a plumber over a foul odor in the home. The odor appeared to subside after the plumber placed a cap on one of the basement sewer pipes.
The coroner said there were other injuries on the man’s body and that police did not suspect foul play.
Here’s a local news report about his disappearance:
Troy, Illinois widow mourns loss of husband who was missing since Aprilwww.youtube.com
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