Human remains found in Montco retention pond belonged to man who went missing 2 years ago, officials say

The skeletal remains of a man that were found in a Towamencin Township retention pond earlier this year were identified as a man who had only recently moved to the United States before he went missing two years ago, officials said.

In a press event on Tuesday morning, Montgomery County Coroner Janine Darby said that, by using DNA testing, the remains were determined to having belonged to Isaias Hernandez-Geronimo, a 37-year-old man who lived near where to body was found.

"Mr. Geronimo had recently moved to the U.S. and is survived by a wife and children and extended family," she said.

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Darby said that Hernandez-Geronimo had only lived in the United States for about three or four months before he went missing about two years ago -- though, she did not know what country he had emigrated from.

And, she said, there was no report of his disappearance ever made with police.

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Though, when asked why he was never reported missing, Darby said she did not want to elaborate, saying she wanted to consider the privacy of the man's grieving family.

In discussing the case, Darby became emotional for a short period, and later said that, the case personally touched her.

"Today is an emotional day. One, because we were able to identify a person that died alone and also to provide closure to the family," she said.

According to police, the remains, now identified as belonging to Hernandez-Geronimo, were found on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, by surveyor crews working in the area of Welsh Road and Grist Mill Drive.

Initially, officials said, the workers found a human skill in a retention basin at that location.

Darby said that investigators recovered that skull, along with additional skeletal remains, a backpack and a cell phone, at the scene, but had little else to go on.

"It was just bones. We had the clothing, we had a backpack, but it was not much to go on," she said.

DNA testing, she said, helped provide identification of the remains.

Also, Darby said, though they have not determined a manner or cause of Hernandez-Geronimo's death, she said that officials are now considering this case closed as there was nothing indicating suspicious activity that resulted in Hernandez-Geronimo's death.