Former Dover Town Supervisor returns home after week-long disappearance

DOVER PLAINS — Wingdale resident and former Dover Town Supervisor Ryan Courtien remained hospitalized Monday, July 20, undergoing medical evaluation after his unexplained disappearance ended with his safe return last week.

Courtien — a 49-year-old father of two, volunteer firefighter, current Dover Planning Board chair, and Wingdale resident of 22 years — was taken to a local hospital after state police reported that local deputies picked him up at the Harlem Valley-Wingdale train station on Wheeler Road Friday evening, July 17. Dover Town Supervisor Rich Yeno said Courtien was still undergoing medical evaluation as of Monday evening, July 20.

His disappearance on Sunday, July 12, shocked the community — triggering a multi-day search and rescue response that drew emergency responders from across New York and western Connecticut.

Authorities have not released details about the circumstances surrounding Courtien’s sudden disappearance and return home. State police Public Information Officer Krystal Paolicelli said Monday, July 20, that the investigation had concluded and the case had been closed.

“Based on the findings of the investigation, no criminal conduct was identified that would warrant an arrest,” Paolicelli said. “The reason for his departure remains unknown.”

Neither Courtien nor his family have released a statement.

Courtien was reported missing Sunday after he left the house at 9:30 a.m. to perform yard work at his home on 32 Waldo Road and never returned. Starting Sunday afternoon, authorities commenced a search of the woods surrounding his home, utilizing heat-seeking drones, K-9 units, helicopters and searchers on foot. The search was called off Wednesday, July 15, after nearly four full days of scouring the area.

Paolicelli said on Wednesday, July 15, as many as 80 personnel per day joined in the search and rescue effort. New York State Police headed up the search, with assistance from Dutchess County Sheriff’s deputies, New York State Fire crews, New York State Forest Rangers and volunteer firefighters from across Dutchess County and western Connecticut.

The search and rescue effort carried on until Wednesday afternoon, when New York State Police announced a sudden end to the search at around 4 p.m.

Answers wouldn’t come until more than a day later. After relative silence about the case throughout the day on Thursday, July 16, state police announced on Friday, July 17, that Courtien had been spotted in Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal exiting a Metro-North train shortly after his disappearance on Sunday.

Then, as suddenly as it had all begun, Courtien was located Friday evening. Authorities received a tip through a 911 call that Courtien was near the Harlem Valley-Wingdale train station just after 5 p.m. on Friday. According to a statement from the New York State Police, Dutchess County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and confirmed Courtien’s identity.

Courtien was then reportedly taken to a local hospital for evaluation. Authorities did not release the location of the hospital, and calls to area hospitals could not confirm Courtien’s status.

Dover Town Supervisor Rich Yeno led the community response to the disappearance, appearing at the search and rescue command post throughout the week and making public updates through Facebook posts. He expressed gratitude for Courtien’s return home.

“The biggest thing is he’s alive,” Yeno said.

Courtien first moved to Wingdale with his wife, Suzanne Calligan-Courtien, in 2004 when the pair bought their Waldo Road home, according to public documents.

He has spent the past 22 years working in various education roles, mostly teaching math to college and high school students, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Courtien was first elected to Town Supervisor in the Town of Dover in the election of 2007, and took office in January 2008. He held that position for eight years, opting not to run for reelection in 2015, according to Dutchess Board of Elections records. Courtien joined Dover’s planning board in 2018, and was appointed chair in 2021.

Friends and community members said Courtien is an avid hiker and a trail advocate. He is credited with helping establish and build the Dover Stone Church hiking trail that leads to a geologic formation so-called because of its resemblance to a chapel.

Most recently, Courtien took a job as operations manager for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association. Dick Hermans, a member of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association’s Board of Directors, said the organization hired Courtien to the position this past spring and that he had taken to his responsibilities with zeal.

Hermans said Courtien’s experience in town government and trail advocacy were strong marks in his favor for the operations manager job.

“He is definitely a trail advocate,” Hermans said.

Courtien’s colleagues on the Dover Planning Board continued public hearings on Monday, July 20, appointing Val Larobardier to serve as interim chair in Courtien’s absence. Courtien was absent from the meeting, and board members did not mention his absence.

After the meeting, Planning Board members, the town’s Planning & Zoning secretary and the town’s engineer expressed concern for Courtien and hope for a speedy recovery. They said that they have decided to quietly carry on in their work and wait for Courtien and his family to reach out to them with more information out of respect for their privacy.

The Board elected to cancel both August meetings, but said that was unrelated to Courtien’s absence. Board secretary Marilyn Van Millon explained that no applications to the Planning Board had come in before deadlines for the August meetings, meaning the board has no business to discuss next month. She said she doesn’t have a clear picture of when Courtien will return to his post as chair.

“We really don’t know anything,” Town Engineer Joseph Berger said. “We’re really concerned, but that’s about all.”