The search for Vermont resident Danny Goldstein, that I posted recently on this blog, has ended with very sad news. I want to extend my sympathies to his family and 
friends. As I have written many times, mental disorders are cruel illnesses.
Rutland Town remains identified as missing man
Reports that Goldstein had been seen on the Long Trail buoyed hopes. But four days after skeletal remains were found off Kathy Drive in Rutland Town, the Chief Medical Examiner’s office confirmed Wednesday that the body was Goldstein.
State police said medical examiners determined Goldstein’s identity using dental records.
Lt. Tim Oliver said investigators have not yet determined a cause of death.
The news came as a blow to Gerald Goldstein who said he was sad but also grateful to those who had helped search for his son.
“Obviously, this is the worst possible outcome but everyone was so helpful and thoughtful to us in Vermont,” he said. “Our family will always be grateful. We’ll never forget that.”
Goldstein said he and other family members planned to travel to Vermont soon to bring Daniel home with them to Kansas. He said the family is also considering a memorial service in Rutland.
Debbie Mackey, Goldstein’s boss at Mountain View Center Genesis in Rutland, said the staff and residents at the elder care facility are also planning a memorial service.
“It’s been like losing a family member,” Mackey said. “He was quiet, steady, kindhearted and a generally all-around good guy. Everyone who works and lives here liked him.”
Like Goldstein’s family members, Mackey said staff members at Genesis were hopeful after hearing about sightings on the Long Trail.
But those leads, which took investigators as far south as the Massachusetts state line, appear to have been groundless in light of the location just west of the city where Goldstein was found.
That spot is close to an area searched early last month when tracking dogs were deployed to follow Goldstein’s trail, according to city police Detective Ken Mosher.
“The first day, the dogs led right up there and we stopped for the day about 150 yards from where they found him,” Mosher said. “The second day they decided to follow other trails where he had been sighted and never went back out there.”
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