Prosecutor: Body Found In River Identified As Missing Wall Street Journal Reporter

The body of a Long Hill Township man who went missing in January 2014 has been found, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp announced Thursday.

David Bird, the veteran Wall Street Journal reporter who left his home January 11, 2014 in the Millington section of Long Hill Township to take a walk, was the subject of a missing persons investigation for more than 15 months. His body was recovered in the Passaic River Wednesday night just 1.5 miles away from his home, Knapp said.

On Wednesday, March 18, two men canoeing on the Passaic River in Long Hill Township came across a red jacket located near branches, Knapp said. The men called Bernards Township Police who later determined the existence of human remains, Knapp said.

Bird’s body was located in the middle of the Passaic River between the Millington and Bernards Township border, Knapp said. He was later identified through dental records.

At about 4 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2014, Bird told his wife he wanted to go for a walk during a break in the rain, left his cell phone at home charging, but apparently took his wallet, and apparently headed to the trails of the Hicks Tract in Long Hill Township in Morris County.

The Wall Street Journal’s owner, Dow Jones, put out a $10,000 reward for anyone who had information leading to Bird’s discovery.

When Bird first went missing, dive teams searched sections of the Passaic River, but came up with no clues.

Bird’s cause and manner of death are still under investigation by the the Morris County Medical Examiner, Knapp said.

Photo Courtesy Morris County Prosecutor’s Office

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