Williamsburg man missing since Jan. 10 found dead from suicide

The Williamsburg man missing since Jan. 10 was found dead Wednesday, the victim of suicide.

Will Hill who was last seen on Jan. 10, was found dead Wednesday.

Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird said search crews recovered the body of Will Lawrence Hill, 33, in a wooded area off of Baker Hollow off of Hwy. 26 about 3 p.m.

Search crews were led to the site after a helicopter from PHi Air Medical out of London responded to a request for assistance with the search.

“We think he had been there since the night of Jan. 10,” Bird said of Hill noting it was approximately one-half mile northeast of where search teams had last been looking.

“What slowed us down was battling the weather and flooding,” Bird said noting crews had been using a circular pattern to work their way out from the last place where he was known to be on Wofford Church Road off of Ky. 26.

“We didn’t feel like he was far from there based on the fact that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder,” Bird said.

“One of the last phone calls with his ex-wife he was in a bad state of mind,” Bird said.

Bird said Hill had grown up in the area and knew the woods well. Hill was found near the ground in a tree stand.

“That was his thing, being outdoors,” Bird said of Hill noting that with deer hunting season having ended, no one would have had cause to return to the tree stand.

Bird emphasized that the help of PHi Air Medical dramatically sped up the search, explaining it would have been at least another week before a ground search team reached that area.

“I can’t say enough about those guys,” Bird said of the PHi aircrew.

In addition to PHi Air Medical, Kentucky Emergency Management, Whitley County Emergency Management, Woodbine Search and Rescue, Whitley County Sheriff’s Department and Jason Wilson with Whitley County E911 assisted in the search.