Woman finds husband’s body in their home eight months after reporting him as missing
“I thought, well, maybe he might’ve taken a walk, because he was maybe stressed out,” she told People. “I mean, it’s not something that he would normally do, but then again, you never know what people would do.”
Agonizing search
FOX59 reports that during the search of the Maedge residence, officers – noted a “sewer-like” odor inside the home but were unable to identify its source. Chief Deputy Coroner Kelly Rogers later described the house as a “hoarder home,” which may have complicated the search.
“‘Hoarder’ is a strong word,” Jennifer told People, adding, “he was more – I would consider, more of a pack rat.”
At the time he went missing, Richard was employed as a maintenance worker for an agency that provided care for individuals with disabilities. According to his wife, her handyman husband “didn’t want to get rid of anything.”
Odor lingers
Weeks later, Jennifer called authorities again to report that the odor was still there. When Troy police conducted a second search, they recognized the same smell but, once again, found nothing.
“I have four dogs and a cat roaming around, so you get many different smells. And then also, my sinuses were bothering me at the time, too. So, you’re trying to figure things out and you’re getting confused at where it’s [coming from],” she told People.
Hoping to resolve the issue, the family contacted a plumber. According to Rogers, the plumber identified the odor as sewer gas and placed a cap on one of the sewer pipes in the basement, which appeared to eliminate the smell – at least temporarily.
Holidays have ‘a lot less magic’
Meanwhile, Richard’s sister, Marilyn Toliver, took the search to social media. Almost every day over from April 27 to the day he was found, the Georgia woman posted missing person flyers and updates on Facebook, desperately pleading for help from the public.
