Maslosz (undated photo)
PATTERSON – Authorities say that a body found in woods in the
Town of Patterson is that of a man reported missing from his Patterson
home on Wednesday. Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith said the death of
Dariusz Maslosz was an apparent suicide.
Maslosz, 49, was found dead Thursday afternoon in the Cranberry Mountain
Wildlife Management area, a 1,085-acre state forest preserve in Patterson.
Pending an autopsy and formal ruling from the coroner’s office,
investigators said he died from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.
He was last seen by a family member at around 9:30 a.m. at his home on
Caroline Drive in Patterson. When he did not return home that evening
and was not heard from, his family reported him missing.
Family members told deputies Maslosz was an avid fisherman and hunter,
and that he frequented several hunting and fishing areas in Putnam County,
including the Cranberry Mountain Preserve. That is where a deputy found
his motorcycle parked unattended along Stage Coach Road. A search of the
preserve was undertaken by some 40 personnel, some with tracking dogs,
and State Police helicopter.
At about 2:30 p.m., State Police K-9 led members of the search party to
a hilltop ledge about 50 yards from a hiking trail where Maslosz’s
body was found.
