A man who has been missing from Harrisburg for more than a week was found dead in a crashed car on Route 11/15 Monday, according to Perry County Coroner Robert Ressler.
The crash was reported around 5:15 p.m. at exit U.S. 22/322 near the Perry County-Dauphin County line, PennDOT spokeswoman Fritzi Schreffler confirmed.
Ressler said it was a single-vehicle crash, with 26-year-old Earvin Otero as the only occupant. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, but officials believe the car was there for a couple of days.
“The crash was in such an area that it wasn’t visible to the road,” Ressler said. He was aware that Otero had been considered missing in Harrisburg.
Otero was last seen the weekend of March 19 according to his loved ones. His family expressed particular concern because he was gender non-conforming and sometimes preferred to present as a woman, and they were worried he could be a victim of a hate crime.
Ressler said Otero died from multiple-traumatic injuries from the crash, and his death is being ruled accidental.