Ithaca, N.Y. – A missing Syracuse man who was the subject of a massive search in the Ithaca area has been found alive and well in Pennsylvania, state park police confirmed.
“We are relieved to report that a recent missing person case is over with a positive outcome,” said John Craig, spokesperson for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “Jon D’Agostino has been found alive and well in Pennsylvania.”
D’Agostino, 20, was last seen leaving the Ithaca College campus on Sept. 7. He was a former student at the school.
His car was found a few miles away at Buttermilk Falls State Park just outside Ithaca. Officers found his phone and a note suggesting he planned self-harm, police said.
Police, forest rangers and others searched the 811-acre park for days. The search included drones, dogs and divers.
On Saturday, D’Agostino’s father, Frank D’Agostino, told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that he had spoken to a man who said he drove Jonathan from Elmira to Trout Run, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 8.
“The details he was able to provide of their conversation make me 100% sure it was him (Jonathan),” Frank D’Agostino said Saturday.
Frank D’Agostino said the man had told him his son was hitchhiking to travel further south in Pennsylvania.
The park police have released no further details.