South Jersey teacher found dead from heat had just retired
A South Jersey teacher who went missing in dense woods in Louisiana likely died of heat stroke while pursuing his favorite hobby, authorities say.
Robert Owens Jr. of Millville, whose remains were found on July 19, is believed to have died within hours of entering Kisatchie National Forest 10 days earlier, the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
Owens had recently retired from a 29-year career as an elementary teacher in the Vineland school district.
He taught at the D'Ippolito, Durand and Winslow schools, and also served as Building Technology Coordinator while at Winslow School.
"Students enjoyed being in his classroom," said Sylvia Morano, principal at D'Ippolito Elementary School.
"He worked with students and families to ensure students were successful," she said. "He enjoyed technology and teaching students problem-solving through hands-on activities."
Owens was an avid geocacher, a hobbyist who searches for objects hidden in remote spots by fellow enthusiasts.
He had entered the 640,000-acre forest in Louisiana to look for a geocache while traveling to an event for fellow hobbyists in Memphis, friends said.
A geocache often is a container with a logbook to be signed with the finder's code name and then returned to its hiding place. Owens' code name was BlazeOn, according to a family member.
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"Geocaching is his favorite thing," the missing man's daughter, Abigail Owens of Millville, said in a TikTok video.
She noted her father's body was found in a shaded area on a trail.
“He was probably looking to cool off,” she surmised, noting her father was “not used to Louisiana heat. which is pretty bad.”
How long was Millville man missing?
Detectives believe Owens “most likely passed away from heat stroke the first day he went into the national forest,” according to the Sheriff's Office.
It said investigators could not confirm a cause or time of death due to the body’s decomposition.
A family member last heard from Owens after he found a geocache in the forest on July 9.
"He sent me a picture," his sister, Patty Owens Phillips of Naperville, Illinois, wrote in a Facebook post.
"Since then nothing…not even to his children. His phone seems to be dead," she said.
Owens was reported missing on July 17.
He held a bachelor's degree in philosophy and business administration from Muhlenberg College and a master's degree in teaching elementary education from Rowan University.
He also served as a fellow and online educator for the Franklin Institute Science Museum, according to the Vineland district.
“He has all this fun stuff on his bucket list," his daughter said. "And he’s not going to be able to do any of that stuff now.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Robert Owens Jr., a geocacher, died in a Louisiana forest
