Statement Regarding the Death of Missing 10-Year-Old

Patric McCarthy (who was age 10) went missing on October 13, 2003, while vacationing with his family in Lincoln, New Hampshire. After an extensive search, Patric was found deceased on October 17, 2003. An autopsy was conducted by Chief Medical Examiner Thomas A. Andrew, M.D. on October 19, 2003. The autopsy revealed that Patric’s cause of death was “hypothermia due to environmental exposure” and that the manner of death was an “accident.”

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and the Major Crime Unit of the New Hampshire State Police have investigated the circumstances surrounding Patric’s death and that investigation has not yielded evidence to support a conclusion that Patric’s manner of death was a homicide or that the cause of death was other than hypothermia.

Beginning in August 2008, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and the FBI undertook an investigation into Patric’s death. This matter was reviewed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire. Based on the facts, there is insufficient current evidence to suggest that a prosecution is warranted. Thus, the FBI has closed their case at this time.

Members of the Attorney General’s Office met with an Assistant United States Attorney from Massachusetts and members of the FBI on July 7, 2009. At the conclusion of that meeting, the Attorney General’s Office and the FBI concluded that there was insufficient, credible evidence to warrant a murder investigation based on the evidence gathered at this juncture. The Attorney General’s Office has been scheduled to meet with Patric’s family on July 28, 2009, to discuss the information that was learned during the New Hampshire State Police’s and the FBI’s investigation.

Early today members of the McCarthy family held a press conference during which Patric’s death was characterized as a homicide. This characterization is not supported by the facts currently known by the Attorney General’s Office, the Major Crime Unit, and the FBI. However, should additional, credible information come to light, the authorities would certainly reconsider further review of this matter. Although the McCarthy family has cited to experts who concluded that Patric’s death was a murder, none of those experts examined Patric’s body as Dr. Andrew did during his thorough autopsy.