German police: Body found in river is missing American Devon Hollahan

Police: Body found in river missing American man

FRANKFURT — German police said Tuesday that the body of a man pulled from the Rhine River last week has been identified as missing 22-year-old American Devon Hollahan.

Frankfurt police said that Hollahan, of Arizona, who was reported missing Nov. 21, was positively identified through DNA testing. His body was pulled from the Rhine Dec. 15 near the town of Boppard, which is about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Frankfurt.

Police said that Hollahan drowned and that foul play is not suspected, adding that he likely fell into the River Main in Frankfurt under the influence of alcohol and drifted into the Rhine. The two rivers intersect near Mainz, about 22 miles (36 kilometers) southwest of Frankfurt.

A call seeking comment from Hollahan’s father, Jeff, was not immediately answered.

Jeff Hollahan traveled to Frankfurt to search for his son last month and spent three weeks canvassing the city and tacking up fliers with pictures and contact information. He returned home to Scottsdale, Arizona last week.

Hollahan, 22, who had been teaching English in Prague since July, was traveling back to a hostel after a concert in Frankfurt with a friend, who stopped to ask for directions at about 3 a.m. on Nov. 21. When the friend turned back around, Hollahan was gone.

About an hour later, police say witnesses saw a man who was “without a doubt” Hollahan, lying on the sidewalk. When they told him in English they had called an ambulance, he ran away.

Police said that scent dogs traced Hollahan’s trail to the banks of the Main River, and that authorities found a shoe believed to be his in the water.