Yoga teacher who went missing after blind date is found dead in rock quarry

PHOENIX (TCN) -- A 45-year-old yoga instructor who disappeared over a month ago when he went on a blind date was found dead in a rock quarry last week.

Marcus Freiberger was last seen and heard from on Feb. 21, and his family became concerned after he failed to communicate with them. KPNX-TV reports one of Freiberger’s friends went to his apartment to check on him, but Freiberger wasn’t there. His dog Thomas, however, was home alone. Freiberger’s father said the friend "got really worried about it and thought something’s up here because Marcus would never leave that dog."

His father told KPNX, "There’s no reason for him to disappear. Even if he did decide to go somewhere, he would’ve at least called his friend to take Thomas. That makes me really think there’s something more going on here, foul play of some sort."

A missing person bulletin shared by The Aware Foundation says Freiberger was scheduled to go on the blind date, though it is "unknown if that meeting took place." Freiberger and the date were reportedly supposed to meet at a parking lot near 2nd Avenue and Van Buren Street.

Freiberger’s family ultimately reported him missing to the Phoenix Police Department on March 14. Phoenix Police announced in a news release shared by KSAZ-TV that on March 19, patrol officers received a call about a body found at a quarry near 15th Avenue and Broadway Road. The medical examiner took the body, and the remains were later identified as Freiberger’s.

Phoenix Police said the case is "being handled as a death investigation," as autopsy results remain pending.

Freiberger’s dad explained to KSAZ that his yoga instructor son “had a history of drugs, and he’s been in and out of rehab a few times.” But he noted that Freiberger has “never disappeared this long.”

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