Missing Herndon Man, 79, Found Dead After Week-Long Search

HERNDON, VA — Leonard Hugh Thompson, the 79-year-old Herndon man reported missing since last Monday, was found dead Saturday by search and rescue workers in Troutville, Virginia, according to Town of Herndon police.

Thompson, whose disappearance posed a credible threat to his health and safety, was last seen around 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 15 on Elden Street in Herndon, authorities say.

Hoping to bring national attention to the search, Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes, who is married to Thompson's son, posted a plea on her Instagram and X accounts, asking for the public's help in locating the grandfather of her four children.

"He is a kind, gentle soul, but we do believe that he had a health episode and is disoriented, completely confused, doesn't know who he is," she said.

Thompson was last seen the evening of Dec. 26 in Winchester, and his car was found with a flat tire in Roanoke. Dawes said he was traveling on Interstate 81 and law enforcement believe he'd been picked up by a trucker or a good Samaritan.

No information was available Monday morning on the cause and manner of Thompson's death.

Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management assisted Herndon police in locating Thompson.

Please help my family find my father-in-law. He has been missing for days—-last seen Monday evening in Winchester, Virginia, car left abandoned with a flat tire in Roanoke, Virginia Tuesday early morning. Law-enforcement is suspecting that he was picked up by a trucker. He was… pic.twitter.com/OFHLb3zRGo
— Dominique Dawes (@dominiquedawes) December 20, 2025