Missing Williamsburg Lyft Driver Found Dead In East River

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A Rochester man who went missing from his apartment in Williamsburg was found dead in the East River, nearly two months after he was last seen.

31-year-old James Johnston, known as Jamie, went missing Jan. 29, the day after he had gotten into a car accident during his job as a Lyft driver. His family, who had recently hired a private investigator to look for Johnston, got the call late last week that police had found his body in the East River near Lower Manhattan, the family and NYPD confirmed.

"Yesterday we got a call no one should ever have to get — they found him," the family wrote on a GoFundMe me page for Johnston. "Not the fun personality, not the infectious laugh, the witty jokes. They found his remains. We have the closure now that he will be coming home for good."

Johnston was last seen in his apartment on Morgan Avenue by his roommates. He had made it home after his car was towed from the accident earlier that day in North Bergen, NJ, but disappeared by the next morning, his mom, Nancy, said at the time.

Nancy said she began to worry after he didn't answer messages or calls over the next few days. She and Johnston's family worked with three separate detectives, searched the neighborhood on their own and hired a private investigator to try and find Johnston.

They had been worried about his health, Nancy said, given that he had been in a car accident and because he had bipolar disorder and had missed a shot scheduled for his medication in February.

An NYPD spokesperson said Tuesday that the death is still under investigation and that, though it appears Johnston drowned, the cause of death has not been determined by the medical examiner yet.

The GoFundMe page, which has raised more than $5,000, had been set up to help find Johnston, but will now be used to pay for funeral arrangements. Calling hours will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Young Funeral Home in Williamson, N.Y., a celebration of his life will be held at 2 p.m. the next day at Williamson First Presbyterian Church and a send off will follow on April 27 at the West Walworth Fire Department.

Any remaining money will be donated to the nonprofit NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

"James was a wonderful man so full of life, with an infectious smile. A person who would do anything for anyone, and have a blast doing it," friends wrote on the fundraiser. "He will always be remembered by his family as a loving son, caring brother, and fun uncle."

More information can be found in Johnston's obituary.