Human remains tied to missing Bethesda son of prominent developer

The man whose remains were found by a hiker near the entrance to the Appalachian Trail in south-side Warren County on April 2 has been identified as John Patrick Donohoe of Bethesda, Maryland.  According to “Bethesda Beat” Donohoe, the 36-year-old son of a prominent D.C. area developer, had been missing since leaving his parent’s home on December 13.  That was one day after his release from Suburban Hospital according to court documents, the Bethesda paper reported.

Missing person photo of John Patrick Donohoe posted by Maryland authorities and media during a nearly four-month search, now ended by the discovery of the Bethesda man’s remains near the entrance to the Appalachian Trail in southern Warren County.

On December 29, an Upper Marlboro woman, Chernor Sheriff, 25, turned herself in to authorities after being filmed on security cameras at three locations in Prince George’s County making purchases with Donohoe’s credit card.  After turning herself in the day Montgomery County Police released security video of her, Sheriff initially told authorities a stranger “standing outside the Premium Beauty Supply store in Hyattsville” gave her the card as she approached the shop.

However, she eventually admitted that her boyfriend Victor Sesay gave her the credit card to use.  Sesay is identified in court documents as a 37-year-old who shares the same Upper Marlboro address as Sheriff, Bethesda Beat reported.  They added that Sheriff told authorities she did not know how Sesay came in possession of the credit card; and that she did not know the missing John Donohoe.

Sheriff was charged “with four counts of credit card fraud for racking up $700 in charges on Donohoe’s card at two beauty supply stores and a McDonald’s in Prince George’s County on Dec. 22 and 23,” Bethesda Beat reported.  However, no charges were filed against Sesay after he was interviewed by Montgomery County police.

Even with a confession and surveillance video of the alleged identity theft, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office dropped the criminal case against Sheriff last month, citing a lack of prosecutable evidence.

Bethesda Beat identified Donohoe’s father as Bob Donohoe, chairman and CEO of The Donohoe Cos., a prominent developer in D.C., who has also been active in the Bethesda area.  According to their January 5 report on Sheriff’s arrest on the credit card fraud charges, Donohoe’s parents told authorities they were concerned about their son’s “mental wellness” and had not been able to contact him after he left the family home in “his 2011 Chevrolet Equinox around 10:30 a.m. Dec. 13.”  According to the Montgomery County Police spokeswoman Rebecca Innocenti, the vehicle was “located unoccupied in the Town of Front Royal March 3.”

Found in Warren County

According to an April 5 press release from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, three days earlier a hiker discovered human remains in “a wooded area located just off the Appalachian Trail” on property owned by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

The southbound Appalachian Trail access point off Rt. 522, south of Front Royal. Photos/Roger Bianchini

Alerted to the discovery, units from both the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and Fire and Rescue Department “were dispatched to the area of Remount Road (Rt. 522 South) and the entrance to the Appalachian Trail … The Sheriff’s Office investigated the scene in conjunction with National Zoological Park Police, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Virginia State Police, National Park Police and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.”

The trail-head boundary with the SCBI property is marked by a barbed-wire fence, to right looking west in this photo.

“The remains were transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Manassas, Virginia for identification and cause of death … The cause of death is still under investigation by the Medical Examiner’s Office.”

The southern Warren County access point to the trail on the west side of Rt. 522 South rises adjacent to the overgrown barbed-wire fence at right, marking the boundary with the Smithsonian property.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Investigator Brad Pugh, Warren County Sheriff’s Office at (540) 635-4128.