Questions Swirl as Missing Teacher’s Remains Found in Woods
The remains of a beloved English teacher are believed to have been found, authorities say, all but confirming the worst fears of loved ones who have been searching for 42-year-old Meghan Marohn since she vanished on a hiking trip in March.
Authorities say the remains of a woman were found in a heavily wooded area in Western Massachusetts on Thursday evening and they presume the body is Marohn, but a medical examiner has yet to confirm.
Marohn, who taught 10th graders in Colonie, New York, mysteriously disappeared at the end of March while taking a leave from work to hike in the Berkshires, the family said. She was reported missing on March 29 and her car was found abandoned shortly after inside Longcope Park, a 46-acre wooded area with hiking trails.
The remains were found Thursday in Lee, Massachusetts, which is where Marohn’s car was previously found, authorities said.
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Cops said in March that there were no signs of foul play in or around her car when searched. It was still unlocked with her hiking boots inside, the Albany Times Union reported.
Cops opened up a criminal investigation and ordered a massive manhunt to begin through thick forest that “hampered search efforts,” Lee Police Chief Craig DeSantis said.
The search party included cops, dogs, and volunteers on the ground, while drones and helicopters hovered above, DeSantis said.
Marohn’s brother, Peter Naple, said his sister loved to hike and frequented the Berkshires. She was on a solo trip when she disappeared and was in good spirits when she spoke to him from her hotel room at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge on March 27, he told WTEN News.
“She was having a bowl of soup and reading her book,” Naple said. “I said I’d speak with her tomorrow. And that was the last I heard from her.”
Cops said in April they based their search on an area where they were able to briefly track Marohn’s cell activity—about a mile west of Longcope Park.
The Times-Union reported that Marohn was hiking in Massachusetts during the school year because she took a leave of absence. This detail caused speculation that Marohn may have taken her own life, the paper reported, but cops had given no such indication.
Just last month, Naple told the Daily Mail that he doesn’t think his sister committed suicide. He said she took time off from work because she was being “brutally harassed and intimidated” by a man at the school.
“She told me briefly that there was an incident that happened at work with a male coworker,” Naple said. “When his advances were cut off he didn't like it. It really bothered her and she brought it to the attention of her superiors.”
Cops have already investigated the man and cleared him of wrongdoing in his sister’s disappearance, Naple said, and he was still working at Shaker High School as of two weeks ago.
The last known person to speak to Marohn was a hotel employee who gave her directions around 10 a.m. on March 27, Naple said. Shortly after, there was no activity on her phone and none from her bank.
“It's as if she vanished into thin air,” Naple told the Daily Mail.
Naple said he has no clue what happened to his sister, but he’s keeping everything on the table until authorities say otherwise—except suicide.
“If Meghan was to do something like that, she would have left a note because she is a writer,” he said.
Naple said that the “scenarios are endless,” and that Marohn could have been abducted or might have fallen and hit her head while hiking in the dense forest.
Cops are yet to release details on why or how Marohn went missing. Authorities did not say Friday what state the remains were in when they were recovered.
Naple could not be reached by The Daily Beast on Friday. He previously praised his sister while talking to WTEN News, however, calling her a great teacher, poet, and one of his best friends.
“We are talking about one of my best friends,” Naple said. “We’re talking about someone who's touched countless students.”
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