eWire News

U.S.

Missing newlywed Dominick Bianchi found dead in East Greenbush woods

Bianchi, 35, left his phone, wallet and car at home on Sept. 8; no cause of death released.

6 min read

A wooded area behind houses on a residential street in upstate New York.
Photo by Kirkikisphoto | Dreamstime.com

Dominick Bianchi, a 35-year-old newlywed who walked away from his East Greenbush, New York, home without his phone, wallet or car, has been found dead in a wooded area, the East Greenbush Police Department said. The department confirmed the death on Sunday, Sept. 13, five days after Bianchi was last seen. A cause of death has not been released.

The East Greenbush Police Department extends its deepest condolences to Dominick's family, loved ones, and all those affected by this tragic loss.

East Greenbush Police Department, in a statement

Detective Sergeant Michael Guadagnino delivered the department's condolences to Bianchi's family and loved ones. Officers thanked the residents who searched their own properties, passed along information and supported the investigation during the week Bianchi was missing.

Found in a wooded area

Bianchi was located deceased in a wooded area over the weekend, the East Greenbush Police Department said. News of the discovery broke late Sunday night, according to Hudson Valley Post. The department has not described where the body was found, who found it or at what hour, and the discovery ended a search that had run since the morning of Tuesday, September 8.

Bianchi was last seen around 10 a.m. that Tuesday, leaving his home on Forrest Pointe Drive on foot, according to the East Greenbush Police Department. He left his phone, his wallet and his car behind. East Greenbush sits just outside Albany, in the Capital Region. The department published a missing person report asking for the public's help.

  • Age 35, 5 feet 11 inches tall, with blue-green eyes, brown hair and a beard
  • Last seen wearing black sweatpants, a black long-sleeve shirt and possibly a baseball hat
  • A chest tattoo of a skull and roses, and a baseball tattoo on his right arm
  • A cross tattoo on his back
  • Left home on foot, with his phone, wallet and car still at the house

His wife, Julianna Zyra, told News 10 that she later found black clothing in the couple's laundry and believed her husband may have changed before he left, The Daily Beast reported. That made the circulated description less reliable, because it was based on what Bianchi was last seen wearing at the house.

Drones and dogs searched for a week

Police used drones and canine teams in the search, and other agencies took part, including the New York State Police, East Greenbush Police Department Assistant Chief James Condo told News 10, the ABC station in Albany. The search continued through the week. Bianchi's family made its own public appeal for help, News 10 reported on September 11.

Whatever it is that's going on, there are so many people who care about you and want you to be home.

Julianna Zyra, wife of Dominick Bianchi

Zyra, 33, married Bianchi a few months before he disappeared and went on News 10 to make the appeal, The Daily Beast reported. "If you're seeing this, please, come home," she said. She told the station he had left his car, phone and wallet at their home, and that she was worried he did not have his insulin.

Bianchi had Type 1 diabetes and wore a continuous glucose monitor, but the monitor was paired to the phone he left behind. "He has a continuous glucose monitor, which is paired to his phone that he doesn't have," Zyra told News 10. She said she did not know whether he had any insulin with him, and the family could not tell whether he was able to check his blood sugar at all.

Bianchi had been struggling with his mental health before he disappeared, his wife said. "He has been struggling mentally for quite some time, and nobody really knows about it," she told News 10. She spoke in the first days of the search, when police were still asking neighbors to check their properties.

Police asked residents to check trail cameras

In its missing person report, the East Greenbush Police Department wrote: "We are asking for the public to check their properties, sheds, cars, trail cams and any home surveillance. If you see something please notify us." The department said there was no threat to public safety.

Anyone with information was asked to call the East Greenbush Police Department at 518-479-2525, ABC News reported. Police said Bianchi had left his home on foot. The description they circulated listed his height, his eyes, his hair, his beard and three tattoos, and it carried the caution that he might no longer be in the clothes he was last seen wearing.

  1. Tuesday, September 8: Bianchi last seen about 10 a.m. leaving his home on Forrest Pointe Drive on foot.
  2. September 10: Zyra's televised plea for her husband to come home is reported.
  3. September 11: Police describe a search using drones, canines and outside agencies.
  4. Sunday, September 13: East Greenbush police confirm Bianchi was found dead in a wooded area over the weekend.
  5. Cause of death: not released by police, who asked for the family's privacy.

The search spanned five days, from the Tuesday morning Bianchi left his house to the weekend confirmation that he had been found dead. His family considered the situation dire from the start because he had gone without his phone and his medication, Hudson Valley Post reported. His family assumed he was in immediate need of medical attention.

Cause of death not released

Police have not released a cause of death. The department has not said whether Bianchi's Type 1 diabetes, his mental health struggles or any other circumstance played a part, and no official determination has been made public. What is established is narrow: he was last seen on a Tuesday morning, he left his phone, wallet and car at home, and he was found dead in a wooded area days later.

Newlywed missing since September 8 found dead

Dominick Bianchi, 35, of East Greenbush, New York, was found dead in a wooded area after disappearing from his home on September 8, the East Greenbush Police Department said. He was last seen on the morning of Tuesday, September 8, and he left behind his cellphone, wallet and car. His wife of a few months, Julianna Zyra, had pleaded publicly for him to come home before police confirmed the death.

The department thanked the public in its statement. "We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the members of the public who provided assistance, information, and support throughout the investigation," it said. "Your cooperation was greatly appreciated."

Zyra's appeal was broadcast by News 10 while the search was still under way, and ABC News reported her remarks on September 11. She addressed her husband directly, telling him that many people cared about him and wanted him home.

What police have not said

Nothing has been made public about where Bianchi went after he walked away from Forrest Pointe Drive on foot. The request that residents check their properties and review surveillance footage was part of the effort to work out where he had gone after leaving home. Police have not said when a cause of death will be released.

Zyra spoke to the public as well as to her husband during the search, asking people to stop hypothesizing about what had happened, The Daily Beast reported. "He's very sick and he is not in the right headspace," she said.

Bianchi's disappearance prompted concern among his family and a search effort involving local residents as well as police. The department has not said whether anyone saw him after he left home.

The department asked that the privacy of Bianchi's family and loved ones be honored "as they grieve and begin to process this tremendous loss," according to its statement.

Bianchi was 35 and had been married a few months. He left his East Greenbush home on foot on the morning of Tuesday, September 8, without his phone, his wallet or his car, and without a way to read the glucose monitor that paired to that phone. Police found him dead in a wooded area days later.

Sources

Next from the wire

Weekday mornings, 7:00 ET

The Current

What moved overnight and what's ahead, in five minutes. Free. One click to stop.