VT VT - Matthew Houskeeper, 59, last seen getting a haircut, car missing, phone inactive, missed work, Manchester, 14 Aug 2024

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Read his Facebook, sounds like a really cool guy who values friendship and family. Has a way with words, I couldn't stop reading his posts. His dad passed away on August 16, 2021. I wonder if that is somehow a catalyst for his absence.
 
I hope those fishermen explained how they found the kayak. Was it just at the shoreline floating aimlessly or had it been pulled up to the shore to keep it there? MH was a prolific photographer. Did he carry his camera or phone with him all the time? Could he have seen something while kayaking and decided to take some pictures? The fact that the phone is inactive sounds like it's in water.
 
I hope those fishermen explained how they found the kayak. Was it just at the shoreline floating aimlessly
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I've been wondering if the paddles were found too. Kayak paddles almost always float. Along with MH's cell phone, perhaps a water bottle, hat, and perhaps a small cooler for a snack. As best I can tell, there are no amenities nearby the reservoir, so may have even brought a lunch.
 
truthfinder2019 said:
They found it on the 15th, so many days were unfortunately lost. A pity they did not alert LE right away.
This also shows how important media are to inform the general public.
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100% agree on the importance of getting information to the public quickly.
Inthedetails said:
I am not sure my first thought when randomly finding a kayak would be something dangerous happened. My first thought might be it become unmoored from a dock, tbh, and it floated away.
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Agree. Living in a town with multiple bodies of water, unattended watercraft are found a handful of times a year, often after storms. Tends to be people don't secure them correctly. When reported, the police look into the matter, and make public request for the owner of the specific vessel to come forward. The police also ask residents to put identification stickers on the watercraft, so that the police can easily identify the owner of a found watercraft.

IMO, the fisherman who found Matthews kayak probably took the opportunity to score a free item, not thinking it was related to a missing person. I am very glad they came forward.
 
May he rest in peace.

“At approximately, 9:47 AM, the State Police located the body of a male floating in the reservoir. The body matched the description of Matthew Houskeeper who was reported missing on August 14th,2024. The body will be sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, in Burlington, Vermont where an autopsy and formal identification will be performed.”

RE: Update No. 5: Westminster Barracks / Missing person

STATE OF VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY VERMONT STATE POLICE CASE#: 24B1005441 RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Sgt. Kelsey Knapp ...
vtstatepolice.blogspot.com vtstatepolice.blogspot.com
 
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Parsnip said:
May he rest in peace.

“At approximately, 9:47 AM, the State Police located the body of a male floating in the reservoir. The body matched the description of Matthew Houskeeper who was reported missing on August 14th,2024. The body will be sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, in Burlington, Vermont where an autopsy and formal identification will be performed.”

RE: Update No. 5: Westminster Barracks / Missing person

STATE OF VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY VERMONT STATE POLICE CASE#: 24B1005441 RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Sgt. Kelsey Knapp ...
vtstatepolice.blogspot.com vtstatepolice.blogspot.com
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Condolences to all who knew and loved him. We could tell he was a popular man who enjoyed the people in his life. I'm sure he will be missed.
 
I'm sorry to hear that Matthew was found deceased. It's a sad day for his extended family and friends in the area, but at least they can mourn his death and celebrate his life now. The search and rescue personnel deserve a lot of credit for their diligent efforts. May he rest in peace.
 
Moo...where I live is summer tourist country. At lake campsites tourists quite often leave their camping gear..tents etc, small water crafts. Because they just don't want to pack it up and take it home. So it is a bit of a free for all of stuff if seems abandoned. So honestly never thought about accidents...just think lazy tourists.
I am glad he has been found, sad it ended this way...moo
 
Inthedetails said:
I am not sure my first thought when randomly finding a kayak would be something dangerous happened. My first thought might be it become unmoored from a dock, tbh, and it floated away.

Once the "finders" realized it was part of a missing-person situation, they reported it.

Do we know what time of day the finders found it?

jmo
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Thank you for posting a benign reason that the kayak could have been floating unattended (“it became unmoored from a dock”). My thoughts tend to go towards a more ominous reason - fell overboard, injured, medical emergency, foul-play, etc - so I really appreciate a reminder that not everything has to have a sinister story.
 
Personally I still cannot figure out the dynamics, how is that possible, that the kayak was found on the 15th by the fishermen, and not him (more or less) right away too, being it in still water? How can he have drifted away? Did he fall due to health issue, and try to swim to the shore and drowned? He had a lot of experience with water so this I cannot believe. If he had for instance a heart failure on the kayak or a vascular accident, he would not have been far from the kayak, there is no real current apparently on the reservoir.
I suppose the autopsy will see if he had water in the lungs and how much of it.
I don t know ehat you think but I find all this bizarre and extremely unlucky for a man with such experience
 
truthfinder2019 said:
Personally I still cannot figure out the dynamics, how is that possible, that the kayak was found on the 15th by the fishermen, and not him (more or less) right away too, being it in still water? How can he have drifted away? Did he fall due to health issue, and try to swim to the shore and drowned? He had a lot of experience with water so this I cannot believe. If he had for instance a heart failure on the kayak or a vascular accident, he would not have been far from the kayak, there is no real current apparently on the reservoir.
I suppose the autopsy will see if he had water in the lungs and how much of it.
I don t know ehat you think but I find all this bizarre and extremely unlucky for a man with such experience
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Probably had to do with decomp. Gases form inside the body forcing it to the surface.
 
branmuffin said:
Read his Facebook, sounds like a really cool guy who values friendship and family. Has a way with words, I couldn't stop reading his posts. His dad passed away on August 16, 2021. I wonder if that is somehow a catalyst for his absence.
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I wanted to keep reading his posts as well..the kind of guy you'd keep chatting with on a bar!
His picture and story was on the front page of our local local paper on Friday.
The guy is truly truly missed. And loved.
 
nhmemorymaker said:
I wanted to keep reading his posts as well..the kind of guy you'd keep chatting with on a bar!
His picture and story was on the front page of our local local paper on Friday.
The guy is truly truly missed. And loved.
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Well, now we know more, but what was expected
I feel I will go to the funeral. I doubt the family will have something small or private given the strong community sentiment
We shall see.
 
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