Sherry Tippett had been hoping her youngest brother Mark had gone to Costa Rica, changed his name, and was sitting on a beach. But she never really believed it. Two weeks ago a body was discovered in Cedar Cove and was quickly identified as that of Mark Tippett, who had been missing since September 2006. He was 44 at the time of his disappearance. For Sherry the identification of her brother brought mixed feelings. “I’m glad they found him,” she told The Bay Net.

If Sherry Tippett never believed her brother was really in Costa Rica, she never for a moment believed he killed himself. This was the narrative put forward by Mark’s widow, Lisa, who attempted to paint her husband as troubled, despondent, and who even claimed she last saw her husband wondering into the woods with a shotgun and a bottle of Xanex. During the same time period an alternative witness had allegedly been playing pool with Mark at the Dew Drop Inn. The last call made from Mark’s phone was to a massage therapist confirming his appointment for the next day.

Following her brother’s disappearance, Sherry Tippett traveled to Southern Maryland to search for Mark herself, feeling that her sister-in-law’s phone calls just didn’t add up, and offering her own reward of $10,000 for help finding her brother. One of many questions that remain this week is how Mark’s body was found days ago when searches in 2006 failed to locate him. “I must have walked right by him,” Sherry told The Bay Net, as she recalled days of scouring the woods looking for her brother. Sherry remembers walking that area for hours, all the way to the water, and struggling off-path, through brambles and think undergrowth, to come back tired and bleeding, torn by blackberry thorns, but without any sign of her baby brother. Perhaps the undergrowth was too thick, or perhaps he was buried, or his body subsequently moved, thinks Sherry. If he had been lying there for nearly two and a half years it would be odd that no one could smell a decomposing body, or that animals hadn’t found him, she told TBN. In response to questions from TBN, Sheriff Tim Cameron said he couldn’t comment on whether or not Mark’s body had been buried or moved or what else might have been recovered. “We are not releasing whether or not the body was moved or any evidence pertaining to what we found on the site. When the autopsy report is done it will be released to the media as soon as it comes in,” Cameron said last week.

Mark Tippett worked as a Service Manager The Spyglass Apartment Community at Cedar Cove until his disappearance, and testaments to Mark’s dedication to the community are clear in the architecture of the Cove, like the gym he helped to construct, and the kayak house he built. “Mark was a success on so many levels, and I know his work-life at Spyglass was one of these areas of achievement. Just before he went missing, he was honored as a manager of the year. His professionalism, perseverance and dedication, were truly exceptional,” Mark’s oldest brother, Rick, commented. Susan Ridgeway, Regional Vice President for AIMCO, told TBN, “We are deeply saddened that Mark’s life came to such a tragic end. He was a wonderful person and outstanding employee. Our hearts and prayers go our to Mark’s family and friends.”

Although Mark’s family continue to wait this week, this time for autopsy and forensic results, they are glad to be able to plan a burial for their brother. “While we, the family, are so happy that he has been found, we are greatly saddened by the loss. We are naturally eager for details which will be forthcoming from forensic evaluations,” said Kate Tippett-B