Thomas E. Messick — Disappearance Profile

Thomas E. Messick disappeared during a group deer hunt near Lily Pond in Horicon, Warren County, New York, on 15 November 2015. The 82-year-old was expected to remain at a stationary position while other members of the party completed a deer drive. When the hunters emerged from the woods, Messick did not return.

He remains listed as missing by New York State Police. Forest Rangers and volunteer teams returned to the area in November 2025 and April 2026 as part of a limited-continuous search.

The current New York State Police bulletin identifies him as Thomas E. Messick, born 14 March 1933. At the time he disappeared he was 5 ft 10 in, approximately 160 lb, grey-haired and blue-eyed, visually impaired in his right eye and wearing camouflage clothing with a red-and-black hat.

Reporting describes him as an experienced hunter, Army veteran and former hunter-safety instructor. Experience reduced some risks but did not prevent injury, illness, disorientation or movement into difficult terrain.

The official State Police account says Messick was expected to remain in a stationary position because of age and health while a deer drive took place. The precise position, direction of the drive and continuous movements of the hunters are not established by a public official map.

The evidence supports that Messick was expected to remain at a stationary position during the drive but did not emerge when the party regrouped. It does not support the claim that he vanished while continuously watched from 100 feet away.

On 15 November 2015 Messick joined a deer hunt near Lily Pond Road. The official last-seen time is 2 p.m. Friends searched before officials were notified, and DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received the report at approximately 4.30 p.m. Four Forest Rangers initially responded.

By 19 November the search involved 145 people from 15 organisations. Nearly 2,500 acres had been grid-searched, more than 80 miles of linear searching completed and air searches covered many additional thousands of acres. A New York State Police helicopter searched on three days when weather permitted.

On 25 November 85 people re-searched 250 acres and K-9 teams covered 3.5 miles. Nearly 100 people participated in a coordinated limited-continuous search and training exercise in November 2025. In April 2026 three Forest Rangers and 19 Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue members examined further areas that might reveal clues.

DEC recorded steep terrain, wet lowlands, thick vegetation, cold, wind, snow and rain. These conditions affect visibility, tracking, scent, access, aircraft operations and detection. The official search was extensive but did not prove every possible location had been searched with perfect detection.

The live State Police bulletin says the extensive search produced negative results. No confirmed public official record located by PRN identifies recovery of Messick's remains, clothing, identification, a verified post-separation sighting, a definite route or a crime scene.

Search-dog organisations participated and K-9 teams covered 3.5 miles on 25 November. No public handler report or official scent-trail record was located. PRN therefore does not claim that dogs found no scent, followed a trail that stopped abruptly, refused to search or proved Messick was removed.

A later documentary records hunting-party member Sid Sharpe saying he heard an unfamiliar sound which he could not describe, roughly 150 yards away towards higher ground. A dramatic comparison with a large trap closing was supplied by his son, who did not hear the sound. Neither witness calls it metallic in the recoverable transcript, and no police statement, DEC report or contemporaneous article containing the claim was located.

The vague account is Lead/unverified and is not part of the core chronology. The amplified metallic trap-door version is not established evidence and does not support a bunker, portal, abduction or supernatural event.

A sudden medical event, fall, concealed injury, disorientation or unexpected movement remain possible, but no recovered evidence confirms one. Wet lowlands were an acknowledged search difficulty, although no evidence places Messick in water. No public official evidence identifies a suspect, crime scene, conflict, vehicle encounter, voluntary-departure plan or supernatural cause.

The search began on the day Messick disappeared and expanded quickly. Officials knew the broad hunting area and expected role. Hundreds of professional and volunteer searchers examined difficult ground by foot and air. Despite that response, no confirmed public explanation or recovery resolved the case. The anomaly is the absence of a confirmed trace after a substantial search, not a supposedly metallic sound or paranormal mechanism.

Thomas Messick remains listed as missing by New York State Police. Anyone with information should contact New York State Police, Queensbury, on +1 518-583-7000 or nysvicap@troopers.ny.gov.

Official status checked: 16 July 2026.