Police identify body found in Groveton last year

Police have identified the remains of the man found last February in the Groveton area as Thomas Bilbao, 51.

The county medical examiner’s office was unable to determined a cause or manner of death, but a police spokeswoman said Thursday that there were no signs of foul play. Investigators believed Bilbao had been dead for about a year when his body was discovered by construction workers in the 6900 block of Richmond Highway (see map) on February 1, 2018.

Bilbao’s remains were found with identification, but a positive ID proved difficult to determine because Bilbao had been deceased for such a long time before being discovered, the spokeswoman said. At the time of his discovery, police said Bilbao had a card from a local homeless shelter and that the wooded area he was found in was a known homeless camp — a characterization that neighbors pushed back against.

Fairfax County spokesman Jeremy Lasich said Thursday that due to privacy reasons, the shelter could not confirm whether Bilbao was a resident at one point. Police said that Bilbao had no fixed address.