Body Found in New Jersey River Identified as Missing 20-Year-Old Who Ran From His Home in the Middle of the Night 4 Months Ago

A man who disappeared after leaving his family’s home four months ago has now been found dead in a New Jersey river.

This week, officials confirmed that authorities recovered the body of Emilio Acosta-Gutierrez from the Hackensack River after he went missing on Dec. 18, 2025, according to reports from News 12, NBC affiliate WNBC, and NJ.com.

That winter morning, around 1:30 a.m. local time, the young man’s parents woke up and saw Acosta-Gutierrez searching through their closet, taking two backpacks before running out of their home in Weehawken, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

Acosta-Gutierrez’s worried father drove around the area searching for him but could not find him. No trace of the missing man — who was 20 when he disappeared and turned 21 while he was missing — emerged until authorities discovered his body in the river, according to reports.

In a January interview with News 12, Idelfonso Acosta said his son may have been experiencing a mental health crisis when he went missing.

“Our son has been living with bipolar disorder…he is under proper care, but since he left the house, he has not had his medication,” Acosta told the outlet at the time.

Nearly three weeks after Acosta-Gutierrez disappeared, Weehawken Police Deputy Chief James White told NJ.com that search efforts had not yielded any results.

“We have done pretty much everything within our abilities to locate him. We’ve deployed drones,” the deputy chief said. “We’ve asked for mutual aid from all our partners, the New Jersey State Police. We got canines to come in to track his locations.”

After reviewing surveillance footage, investigators determined the missing man was last seen walking near a gas station in Secaucus shortly after leaving his home, before heading west on Route 3 toward MetLife Stadium, NJ.com reported. His cellphone also recorded its final signal in that area.

Months later, authorities recovered his body from the river on Friday, April 17, according to reports. Officials continue to investigate his cause of death.

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