NEW YORK – Search ends for an upstate New York man who investigators said allegedly raped at least two women nearly a decade ago, after authorities confirmed human remains found by a hiker earlier this year belonged to him.
The remains of Michael S. Hawkins were found in March by a hiker walking through the woods in Niskayuna, New York, about 10 miles northwest of Albany. Hawkins was wanted for rapes in 2012 and 2013.
Authorities during a news conference Friday said evidence found in the area, including a belt hanging from a tree branch, appeared to indicate that Hawkins died by suicide.
Identification cards found near the remains, as well as DNA analysis, led officials to conclude that the bones and skull were his.
“Given these findings, we can report a high probability that the search for Michael Hawkins is over, and that apparently by his own hand as a fugitive from justice,” said Niskayuna Police Sgt. Joseph Twitty.
In 2019, Hawkins appeared on the television show “In Pursuit with John Walsh“.
Authorities could not immediately provide how long the remains were in the forest.
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