Twenty-one-year-old Matthew Barber was last seen on October 29, 2020, in Elmira, New York. Described as a disabled adult, he vanished without electronic or in-person contact and family members searched and appealed publicly for information; there was some early thought he might have been headed to Pennsylvania.

More than a year later, in June 2022 a boater found a human jawbone in the Chemung River; forensic analysis and DNA testing identified the remains as Matthew’s. Subsequent recovery of additional skeletal elements, including a skull and a hip bone, were also confirmed by DNA. Authorities have called the circumstances suspicious and the New York State Police and Elmira Police Department continue to investigate. The recovery of partial remains means the full sequence of events leading to his death has not been established.

Did anyone in Elmira or along the river know Matthew, see him in late October 2020, or notice anything unusual on the Chemung River in the months that followed?