Decomposed Body Found In Concord Park ID’d; GoFundMe Effort Started For A Memorial And The Man’s Son

CONCORD, NH — A man whose body was found decomposing in the woods near homeless camps by a softball team at Memorial Field last month has been identified.

Timothy Russell, 29, a long-time Concord resident who was homeless at the time, was found on June 23, in the woods behind the junior varsity softball field near the park’s football field. His decomposing body was found by members of a Concord Coed Softball League team, made up of primarily doctors and nurses, who noticed an overwhelming smell coming from the woods behind the field’s northern dugout they knew to be a dead person.

After their game ended, several team members began searching the woods and quickly came upon the body of a man, dressed in a black sweatshirt and sweatpants, about 250 feet into the woods. Debris, food containers, a tent, a sleeping bag, and other items surrounded his body. Police were called and they confirmed the body and surrounded the scene with yellow security tape.

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Lt. Thomas Yerkes of the Concord Police Department said Russell was unidentifiable at the time of discovery due to decomposition. The state medical examiner’s office confirmed his identity Monday. Russell’s cause of death is currently unknown due to pending toxicology reports.

Russell, according to posts on Facebook, was “known to stay in local parks but not the homeless camps,” his family and friends said on a missing person poster. He was last seen at work on June 17 and had last contact with his family two days later. When he failed to show up for work on June 20, friends and family members started searching for him.

A GoFundMe effort was started earlier this week by the mother of Russell’s son, Brittany Wheeler.

“We are all so sad with the passing of him,” she wrote online. “I want to raise money for funeral expenses and to be able to put away money for our son, Mason. Anything helps.”

A goal of $15,000 has been set. At the time of publication, $120 had been raised.

To contribute to the Fund Tim Russell's Memorial and Mason's Future effort, click on this link.

Russell’s death an ongoing and active investigation, police said. Anyone with information about this investigation was asked to contact the Concord Police Department at 603-225-8600. Anyone who has information relative to this incident and wishes to remain anonymous is asked to call the Concord Regional Crimeline at 603-226-3100, or submit information online through the Concord Regional Crimeline website at concordregionalcrimeline.com, or text message TIP234 and your message to CRIMES (274637). Crimeline awards cash to anyone whose information leads to the arrest and indictment of criminals. All tips remain anonymous.

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