By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare.”

That’s how Ellis County Sheriff Ed Harbin described the search for a missing 22-year-old Hays man whose body was found Friday morning.

Jacob Montoya had been missing since Sept. 30.

“A phone call came in this morning between 10 and 11 a.m. about a Chevrolet Suburban found by a landowner about one-half mile from the Russell County line. The vehicle was not visible from the road,” Harbin said.

Ellis County authorities responded to the scene, did a search of the area and located Montoya near a pond.

Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler said it appears the cause of death was a gunshot wound.

“No foul play is suspected,” Scheibler said, adding an autopsy will be conducted.

Montoya worked as a certified nurse’s aide at Hays Medical Center, and his family had hung posters throughout the area and had been in close contact with the media during the search effort.