Remains of MMA Fighter Missing for 2 Years Found in Missouri

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By Inside Edition Staff

First Published: 3:21 PM PST, December 29, 2021

The remains of David Koenig were found in a wooded area in Branson.

The remains of missing MMA fighter David Koenig were found in Missouri this month, two years after he initially went missing.

On Dec. 22, a man in Missouri was looking for deer antlers near a wood area in Branson when he stumbled upon Koenig’s remains, the Branson Police Department said in a statement. A missing person case has been open for Koenig since March 2020, and authorities had previously searched Taney and Stone counties in connection with the case.

"Our department and the amazing group of volunteers never stopped in our efforts to find Mr. Koenig," Branson Police Chief Jeff Matthews said in a press release. "While this is not the ending we hoped for, we offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Koenig."

Police said the cause of death did not seem to be foul play and no trauma was involved.

"It is with great and utter sadness, I am regretfully confirming that David has been found,” Koenig’s mother, Tracy Koenig, wrote on Facebook. "He was not shot, stabbed, no broken bones of any sort. He wasn't robbed, as his tattered wallet was still [intact] as well as the two silver necklaces he always wor [sic] amongst some other things."

Prior to Koenig’s disappearance, his mother said he had reached out to some friends and thought he was in “some sort of trouble” but by the time his friends read the messages, Koenig was already missing, Tracy previously told NBC News.

On Facebook, Tracy also said that her son was finally “at peace.”