Body found in Highland County not that of Staunton man who vanished in 2012

HIGHLAND COUNTY — A body discovered mid-April near the Confederate Breastworks Trail in Highland County is not that of a Staunton man who went missing around that area 12 years ago, according to the Highland County Sheriff's Office.

On April 20, a body was found on a service road in the George Washington National Forest that connects to U.S. 250 near the Confederate Breastworks Trail, authorities said. On Wednesday, Chief Deputy John Wright of the Highland County Sheriff's Office confirmed the unidentified body was not that of Bobby Fitzgerald, who was 60 years old when he went missing in 2012.

"It was not him," Wright said.

Fitzgerald was last seen Nov. 12, 2012, when he visited his elderly mother, who has since died. He then made a stop at a Staunton convenience store.

Authorities believe Fitzgerald went up to Shenandoah Mountain that day, which is west of Staunton and sits close to the border that separates Augusta County from Highland County. He'd gone to the area to look for property he'd lost a day earlier when he and a female companion went hiking on the Confederate Breastworks Trail and other nearby trails, the Augusta County Sheriff's Office said at the time. Authorities have video footage of Fitzgerald, the woman and a dog. The video came from the vehicle-mounted camera of a Northern Virginia production company that was filming on Shenandoah Mountain that day.

During the initial hike, Fitzgerald reportedly lost his cellphone and a shirt. The next day, it's believed he returned to the mountain alone in search of his belongings. Fitzgerald was unaware that a hiker already had found the cell phone.

Off work for part of that week, Fitzgerald wasn't reported missing until days later when he failed to show for his job at Ply Gem in Stuarts Draft, where he worked for 30 years. Ply Gem then contacted the Staunton-Augusta Family YMCA, where Fitzgerald often worked out, in hopes someone had seen him.

Soon after a search was initiated, authorities found his abandoned car at the Confederate Breastworks parking lot. Inside his 2001 Kia they discovered a trail pack containing Power Bars, water bottles, a flashlight and a rain poncho.

For five days, searchers covered more than 50 miles of trails and 4,500 acres with a combined 200 or so search and rescue personnel, numerous K-9 units, a Virginia State Police helicopter and two equine teams in their quest to locate Fitzgerald.

Besides his car, nothing else was found indicating Fitzgerald had been on the mountain.

Declared legally dead, his disappearance remains unsolved.

Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Body found in Highland County not that of Staunton man who vanished in 2012