Body Of Man Missing For 2 Decades Located In Lake In Mansfield: State Police

MANSFIELD, CT — State police Friday said they have recovered and identified the remains of a man who went missing in Mansfield on Christmas Eve in 2004.

At 2:38 p.m. on Oct. 5, state police from the Troop C barracks responded to Mansfield Hollow Lake after the Mansfield Fire Department discovered human remains floating in the water, according to a news release.

Fire personnel brought the remains onto a department boat and to the shore and the the Eastern District Major Crime Squad assumed the investigation, according to a news release.

Crews from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, state police canine units and the Emergency Services Unit Dive Team also responded to assist. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner then transported the unidentified remains for further examination.

On Oct. 21, Major Crime detectives and members of the ESU Dive Team returned to Mansfield Hollow Lake to conduct an expanded search. ESU divers recovered additional human remains as well as a submerged vehicle, according to a news release. The vehicle was removed from the lake and processed the following day by EDMC Detectives.

Detectives located "multiple items of evidentiary value" in the vehicle, including parking passes, a name tag, and a matching license plate linking the vehicle to a missing person case, according to a news release. The vehicle was then identified as a 1996 Mazda B2300 pickup truck belonging to Robert Cavanaugh, who would have been 72 now, but was 51 when he was reported missing on Dec. 24, 2004, according to a news release.

At the time he went missing, Cavanaugh was believed to have left behind a suicide note, state police said.

On Nov. 13, 2025, the medical examiner's office OCME notified the major crimes unit that DNA obtained from the recovered remains positively matched Cavanaugh.

According to a news release, EDMC Detectives then conducted an "extensive and methodical investigation," which included:

• Reviewing clothing labels and logos found with the remains to establish a likely time frame for when the individual had gone missing.
• Working closely with a medical examiner's anthropologist, who noted evidence of a prior shoulder surgery. Family members later confirmed that Cavanaugh had undergone such a procedure.
• Coordinating with ESU divers and the Mansfield Fire Department to identify probable search areas within Mansfield Hollow Lake.
• Recovering a submerged vehicle consistent with Cavanaugh’s missing truck, along with additional human remains and multiple identifying items, culminating in a conclusive DNA confirmation on Nov. 13.

"The Connecticut State Police extend their appreciation to all assisting agencies, including the Mansfield Fire Department, DEEP, K9 units, ESU Dive Team, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, for their cooperation and support throughout the investigation," state police said. "This case remains closed following the confirmed identification."