POUGHKEEPSIE – A body found along the shore of the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie on Thursday has been identified as Andrew “Andy” Neiman. The 46-year-old man walked away from Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital on May 21, after waiting to be admitted for a mental issue.
Neiman’s family, including sister Emily Asher-Abramson, enlisted dozens of volunteers to help search for the man that was able to walk out of the hospital at 9 p.m. on that Friday.
The remains discovered on Thursday were evaluated by the Dutchess County Medical Examiner. Using dental records provided by the family, the examiner was able to make a positive identification.
City of Poughkeepsie Police detectives notified the family on Friday afternoon. Asher-Abramson said, “I spent the first half of this month of his missing wracked with terror, knowing in my being that it was very possible that he had met his end. With the encouragement of close family, I would return to the notion that he was on a journey, perhaps even a healing one, and would return when he was ready.” Neiman was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was not taking medications at the time he left the hospital.
Andy’s brother David announced the news on social media, saying in part, “Thank you all for your incredible, loving support through this life-altering tragedy for myself, Emily Asher Abramson, and my whole family. And even though Andy was likely already dead through our frantic, demoralizing 10 day search and beyond, there was also undeniable beauty in the way the community came together for my brother and held us. And that doesn’t go away simply because it didn’t shake out the way we had hoped. It means just as much. And going forward will mean even more.”
