LOCKPORT, N.Y. (AP) — The death of a California man who had been reported missing and was later found in a forest in western New York is being treated as a homicide.

Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour made the announcement on Wednesday.

Rudy Ray Rockett was reported missing on April 29 after the 64-year-old Redondo Beach, California, man missed his flight home and relatives began to worry.

His body was found on May 19 in the East Otto State Forest. Autopsy results are pending.

Rockett's stepson was arrested on a weapons charge the day after the disappearance, but authorities have not discussed a possible connection.

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