CUMRU TWP., Pa. – After more than a year of uncertainty and unanswered questions, authorities have reached their final determination on the death of a missing Berks County man.
The Berks County Coroner’s Office on Friday confirmed that the cause of death for Travelle Martin has been ruled undetermined.
Martin was initially reported missing in January 2025 and was last seen not far from where his skeletal remains were eventually located in a wooded area off of Lakewood Drive in the Flying Hills section of Cumru Township.
The remains were largely skeletonized at the time of recovery, and no skeletal trauma (broken bones, bullet holes, sharp-force injuries, etc.) was identified, according to Berks County Coroner Matt Stitzel. Additionally, toxicological testing was not possible due to the absence of soft tissue to test for drugs or poisons.
Officials say a ruling of “undetermined” as a cause and manner of death means investigators don’t have enough physical evidence to determine whether the death was natural, accidental, suicide or homicide.
The coroner’s office says evidence collected during a forensic autopsy suggests that Martin’s body was submerged in freshwater for a long time then exposed to land afterward.
Timeline of Events:
Jan 2, 2025: Travelle Martin was reported missing.
Dec 28, 2025: Human remains were discovered in a spillway in the Flying Hills Development in
Cumru Township.
Dec 30, 2025: Forensic Odontologist, Tammy Balatgek, DDS matched the remains to Martin using
dental records.
Dec 31, 2025: Forensic Pathologist Neil Hoffman, M.D. confirmed the identification using evidence of
old healed injuries known from Martin’s history.
Jan 9, 2026: A forensic autopsy was performed by Neil Hoffman, M.D. at Reading Hospital.
Jan 14, 2026: The remains were driven to Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania for further
analysis by Forensic Anthropologist Joe Adserias-Garriga, DDS, PhD.
Feb 7, 2026: The remains were returned to the Berks County Coroner’s Office.