A man looking for deer antlers in Missouri found a body identified as missing amateur Mixed Martial Arts fighter David Koenig on Monday, authorities announced.
The man searching for antlers found suspected human remains in the woods by the 3700 block of Fall Creek Road, the Branson Police Department said in a statement. Officers confirmed that the remains were human and belonged to Koenig, who had been missing almost two years, according to NBC News.
Forensic pathologists concluded that there “was no trauma and that the death did not appear to be the result of foul play,” police said. (RELATED: Five Dead, Officer Injured In Mass Shooting Near Denver)
Koenig’s cause of death is undetermined, though his mother, Tracey Koenig, said he might have been in distress, NBC reported.
Koenig was last seen at Peach Tree Inn in Branson in March 2020, where he stayed before going missing, his mother told Dateline. “He messaged a few of his friends asking for help,” she told Dateline. “He thought he might be in some sort of trouble. But by the time they read the messages and tried to respond to him, he had stopped messaging. There was no answer from him.”
Koenig’s family sent a missing person’s report to the Branson Police Department, NBC said. Missouri State Highway Patrol underwent investigation with the police. Property searches in Taney and Stone counties in Missouri and Boone County, Arkansas, occurred, according to police. Police excavated areas of uprooted earth in two searches, authorities said.
Volunteer groups like the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and cadaver dog groups also searched for Koenig, police reported.
“Our department and the amazing group of volunteers never stopped in our efforts to find Mr. Koenig,” Branson
Police Chief Jeff Matthews said in the police statement. “While this is not the ending we hoped for, we offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Koenig.”