Secaucus police recovered a body from the Hackensack River on April 17, 2026, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. Five days later, on Wednesday, April 22, investigators confirmed the deceased individual was Emilio Acosta-Gutierrez, 20, a Weehawken man who had been missing since mid-December 2025.
The discovery ends a search that stretched more than four months and involved drone sweeps, multi-town coordination and heartfelt appeals from a family desperate for answers about their son’s disappearance.
Acosta-Gutierrez walked out of his family’s Weehawken home around midnight on December 18, 2025, setting off what would become an agonizing missing persons case. His father, Idelfonso Acosta, later told authorities he believed his son was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of his departure.
Cellphone data became crucial in the early investigation. The final ping from Acosta-Gutierrez’s phone was detected near the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford on the same day he vanished. Police used that information to focus their search around the massive entertainment and retail complex, deploying drones to scan the area from above, but weeks passed without any sign of the young man.
By January, with their son still missing in the depths of a New Jersey winter, the Acosta family went public with their anguish. Idelfonso Acosta spoke with News 12, pleading for anyone with information to come forward.
“Our son has been living with bipolar disorder…he is under proper care, but has, since he left the house, he has not had his medication,” Acosta told News 12 at the time.
That detail added a layer of urgency to the search. Without access to his medication, Emilio had been managing bipolar disorder untreated for weeks, a situation his loved ones found especially terrifying as days turned into months without contact.
The family distributed photos and worked with police to keep Emilio’s story alive. Social media posts circulated throughout the winter and spring, with neighbors and supporters sharing flyers in hopes someone would recognize the missing 20-year-old.
The Hackensack River, where Acosta-Gutierrez’s body was ultimately found, runs through Bergen and Hudson County before flowing into Newark Bay. The tidal waterway’s currents can move objects and remains considerable distances, complicating efforts to determine exactly where or when someone entered the water.
Investigators have released virtually no information about the circumstances surrounding Acosta-Gutierrez’s death. As NBC New York reported, the county prosecutor’s office declined to provide any additional information beyond the identification itself. No cause of death has been disclosed, and officials have not indicated whether they suspect foul play or believe the death is connected to the mental health episode his family described.
News 12’s Matt Trapani reported the identification Wednesday evening, bringing an end to the uncertainty that had gripped the Acosta family since mid-December. The confirmation has sparked an outpouring of condolences from community members who had rallied around the family during the search.
What began as an unexplained midnight departure has concluded with a young life cut short and a family left to mourn. For Idelfonso Acosta and his loved ones, the painful work of grieving a son whose struggle ended in the Hackensack River has only just begun.
