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Remains Found At Base Of Palisades Believed To Be Of Alaskan Man Missing Since Spring

UPDATE: Authorities are certain that severely decomposed remains found at the foot of the Palisades this week are those of an Alaskan man whose van was left with a suicide note at the top of the cliffs more than eight months ago.

Glenn Filbert, 62, of Seward, AK, and his van, which was found parked at the Alpine Lookout.

Glenn Filbert, 62, of Seward, AK, and his van, which was found parked at the Alpine Lookout.

 Photo Credit: PIP PD, National Missing Persons
Fort Lee police brought a drone in the search of the Palisades above the Hudson River for the body of Glenn Filbert, 62, of Seward, AK, after his van was found parked at the Alpine Lookout.

Fort Lee police brought a drone in the search of the Palisades above the Hudson River for the body of Glenn Filbert, 62, of Seward, AK, after his van was found parked at the Alpine Lookout.

 Photo Credit: Fort Lee PD
Jerry DeMarco

A passerby notified Palisades Interstate Parkway police after finding the skull in a wooded area at the base of the cliffs around 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, PIP Police Lt. Raymond E. Walter said.

The Bergen County Medical Examiner's Office must make the official determination, but authorities are certain the remains are those of Glenn Filbert, 62, of Seward, an Alaskan port city 4,500 miles away.

Filbert's white 2017 Dodge ProMaster van was found at the Alpine Lookout near the Rockland County border shortly before 9:30 a.m. March 2. Inside was a note referencing suicide, Walter said.

Police contacted his son, who told them that Filbert -- whose wife died weeks earlier -- was last heard from three days earlier, on Feb. 27.

He was supposed to be driving from Florida to Alaska, the son told them.

"We don't know why he would end up here," Walter said.

A bloodhound led searchers to an area of the cliffs where the Fort Lee Police Aviation Team twice sent up a drone with no luck. The Westchester County Police Department Aviation Unit also had a helicopter in the air.

The East Bergen Rappel Team and Westchester County Police K-9 unit also participated in a series of subsequent fruitless searches.

Then came spring -- and, with it, the eventual onset of thick foliage.

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