Remains of Florida tourist discovered in Georgia woods two years after disappearance: FBI

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The remains of a United Kingdom tourist who vanished nearly two-and-a-half years ago have been found in a privately owned wooded area in Georgia, the FBI said.

Alex Hodgson Doughty, 32, was reported missing in September 2022 and had been visiting Jacksonville, Florida, about 35 miles south of where the remains were found in Kingsland, Georgia, the FBI’s Jacksonville field office said in a release.

An FBI Evidence Response Team based in Jacksonville led the search when the remains were found on Feb. 4, the bureau said. It said the Medical Examiner’s Office of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed the remains as Doughty’s.

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Alex Hodgson Doughty was reported missing in September 2022 and had been visiting Jacksonville, Florida. (The FBI Jacksonville Field Office)

American authorities were first alerted to the U.K. citizen’s disappearance when his mother alerted police that she had not heard from her 32-year-old son during his travels in Florida.

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An FBI spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the agency does not suspect foul play and no charges are expected.

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  Officials say the remains of 32-year-old Alex Hodgson Doughty were discovered in a wooded area of Kingsland, Georgia on Feb. 4. (The FBI Jacksonville Field Office)

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  A medical examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation positively identified Doughty’s remains, and authorities said no criminal charges are expected. No cause of death was given. (The FBI Jacksonville Field Office)

The agency said they used geolocation data from Doughty’s phone, but it remains unclear why it took authorities over two years to pinpoint his remains.

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“While we had hoped to bring Mr. Doughty’s family better news, we are thankful to be able to provide them with some closure,” Special Agent in Charge Kristin Rehler said in the statement. “This discovery is the direct result of our partnerships and special agents from FBI Jacksonville’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST), who were relentless in their efforts to narrow down potential search locations.”

Doughty was visiting from the United Kingdom when he vanished in Florida in September 2022, according to the FBI. (Alex Hodgson Doughty/Facebook)

Doughty’s mother, Pamela Hodgson, alerted authorities that her son had disappeared during his vacation. (Alex Hodgson Doughty/Facebook)

According to a missing persons report, Doughty was last seen at Bay Street Bar and Grill in Jacksonville around 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2022. He was dropped off in a taxi to Kingsland an hour later.

His mother, Pamela Hodgson, wrote on his Facebook page in January 2023, “Alex has been missing now for four months. Please help find him. While there are still uncertainties in Alex’s disappearance… it is believed he stopped in Callahan and/or Fernandina, Fla., on this journey.”

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She added then that her son “hasn’t been in contact with his friends or family” since arriving in Florida and they “were extremely worried about him.”

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital.

Sarah joined FOX in 2021, where she has assisted on coverage of breaking and major news events across the US and around the world, including the fallout following the “Defund the police” movement, the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump’s life and illegal immigration.

She has experience reporting on topics including crime, politics, business, lifestyle, world news and more. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.