Shayne Croop found dead after 8-day search

DINGMAN — The search for Shayne Croop, 22, of Dingman Township, who went missing on Aug. 22, ended in a tragic discovery.

The family used Croop's iPhone's GPS function to find the phone along Evergreen Road, about a half-mile from his home in Birchwood Estates. He didn't have anything with him when he left except the phone — "no wallet, no food, no water," said his step-mother, Bonnie Umstead.

Family members said he had been distraught about his job.

Police officers found Croop at approximately 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30, about a mile into the woods, near where he was last reported. The young man had apparently committed suicide, according to the state police at Blooming Grove.

The death is under investigation, which is standard. The official cause is pending. Unconfirmed reports say the young man had been at the site for about a week.

Family, friends, and other residents around the county launched a Facebook campaign to circulate his photos and share information in order to find him.

“I just wanted to thank everyone who came together to help find our Shayne,” Umstead posted on her Facebook page. “Howard R. Stone Jr. and I and his whole family would like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for helping us find our boy.”

The grieving family asked that friends and family “stop posting about him missing, since he is not anymore." They asked well-wishers to light a candle for Shayne, and “take a moment of silence for him.”

By Charles Reynolds