JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. – The body found in a partially submerged pickup truck last month has been officially identified as missing man Richard Hillmann.
According to police, Hillmann was last seen at a friend’s Thanksgiving party on November 22, 2017.
The 60-year-old had been living alone in a Merlin trailer park before he disappeared.
He had plans to cook Thanksgiving dinner for some friends, but the night before he went to another Thanksgiving party; a mere 8-minute drive from his house. Police say that’s the last anyone saw of him.
A year passed by without a trace of Hillmann.
Then, on January 24, 2019, his truck was found partially submerged in the Rogue River about 25 miles from where he was last seen.
According to Hillmann’s daughter, a badly decomposed body was in the driver seat of the vehicle. She expected the body to be identified as her father.
On February 5, 2019, the Oregon State Medical Examiner positively identified the person found in the Toyota pickup as Richard Hillmann.
The past November, police investigating the disappearance said they believe foul play was involved. “Things just aren’t adding up,” said Sergeant Jeff Proulx, Oregon State Police.
While OSP troopers are continuing the investigation, Hillmann’s daughter thanked everyone for making sure her father didn’t fade from people’s memories. “We obviously never believed we would see him again, but getting this news doesn’t make the loss any easier,” she wrote on a Facebook post. “I guess it does provide some relief just knowing we have him now and can say our proper goodbyes. Hopefully now we can start determining exactly what happened to him. RIP Dad.”
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