It is very sad.
I’ve had to make those phone calls to next of kin to tell them we were suspending the searches for their loved ones.
They wanted closure, and I couldn’t give it to them. “Is he dead?” “I don’t know, ma’am, but we have nowhere else to look.” You try to prepare them for the decision as you give them updates on the search, but there’s no way for loved ones to be prepared for that combination of uncertainty and loss of hope.
My heart goes out to this man’s family and friends.
Sounds like he was a good man.