McHENRY, Md. — The body of a man found dead in a wooded area in Garrett County, Maryland Friday morning has been identified as the man reported missing from West Virginia who was the subject of multiple searches this week.
According to Maryland state police, the body, later identified to be that of Hassan Aino, 22, of Morgantown, was found by a hunter in a wooded area of Lower New Germany Road near I-68 at about 8:30 a.m. The hunter reported he had found a body lying in the woods about a half-mile from the nearest road.
The body will be transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy to confirm the cause and manner of death.
Authorities said Aino had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. They found a .40 caliber pistol beside the body, as well as a half-empty whisky bottle and a baggie of suspected marijuana. Investigators have confirmed the handgun they found was legally purchased by Aino about one month ago in West Virginia.
The body was located in a heavily wooded area near a swamp. It was estimated to be about one-half mile from where Aino’s car had been found on Oct. 22 near the intersection of Lower New Germany Road and Avilton Lonaconing Road. The body was outside of an area of more than 130 acres that had been searched by dozens of police and civilian search teams that had been looking for Aino earlier this week.