A Phoenix yoga instructor who went missing nearly a month ago after reportedly going on a blind date has been found dead, Arizona officials and his family confirmed Tuesday.
Marcus Freiberger, 45, was last seen on Feb. 21 at a parking garage in downtown Phoenix where he planned to meet up with a person he had never met, according to the AWARE Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to locating missing and endangered people.
It’s unclear whether Freiberger ever met his date, the organization said.
Freiberger, who moved to Phoenix from Prescott three years ago, had recently moved apartments and was starting a new life with his dog, friends told the Arizona Republic.
He was also a popular instructor at Melrose Yoga, an LGBTQ-owned studio that serves the local LGBTQ community.
On March 19, Phoenix Police officers responded to an area near 15th Avenue and Broadway Road for reports that a body had been found at a rock quarry.
An autopsy conducted by the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner later identified the body as Freiberger, authorities said Tuesday in a news release.”
His cause and manner of death are currently listed as “pending.”
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the tragic news that Marcus is no longer with us,” his sister, Tina Hall, said Tuesday in a Facebook post. “Losing him feels like losing a part of ourselves and I know this will be just as difficult for you. We thank all of you for the love and support you have given Marcus and our family.”
His father, Rodger Freiberger, told the Arizona Republic the family is working with investigators to find out what happened to his son, whom he described as a “great kid [who] was truly loved by a lot of people.”
The case is being handled as a death investigation and pending results from the medical examiner, authorities said Tuesday.