Answered from A Private Matter, Episode 4 · Bear Brook · 2026-11-04
Jason Moon reports that New Hampshire law allows a missing person to be declared dead only after a continuous absence of four years. Counting from when Jay Hickey was reported missing, he cannot be legally declared dead until February 26, 2028, leaving him in what Moon calls a legal purgatory with no sign of life but no death on record.
Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Bear Brook (2026-11-04). Read the whole episode summary →