Update, Jan. 6, 8:35 p.m.: Southampton Town police have identified the man found dead in the woods off Route 114 in East Hampton as Luis Vargas-Arias, 56, of Riverside. Police first reported Mr. Vargas-Arias as missing on Nov. 3. At the time, they said, he had last been seen on Oct. 11 in New York City and was thought to have taken the train there. He was described as "a Hispanic male, approximately 5’5 ft, 170 lbs, with short gray hair, and brown eyes."
In a Monday evening update identifying him as the person found in the woods, Southampton police wrote that "No criminality is suspected at this time."
Original, Jan. 6, 5:46 p.m.: Police are investigating the death of a person in the Buckskill Preserve in East Hampton after a hunter found a body in the woods there Monday morning.
Detective Sgt. Ryan Hogan of the East Hampton Town Police Department said Southampton Town police are investigating the incident, which he characterized as "non-suspicious."
"We're looking into the possibility that it might be a missing person from Southampton Town," he said on the scene Monday afternoon after the body was taken away by Suffolk County Medical Examiner personnel.
"There's no need for concern. It was an isolated situation. We let Ross School know early on that there was nothing for the kids to be concerned with."
Sergeant Hogan wouldn't identify the gender of the deceased or discuss a possible cause. "The Suffolk County Examiner will make that determination," he said. "At this point, it's early on to make the decision about what took place."
The Buckskill Preserve is a densely wooded, 119-acre triangle bound on two sides by Stephen Hand's Path and Route 114. Big-game shotgun and bow hunting is permitted there for town residents by lottery in January.
