#Missing Connecticut teacher who thought he had coronavirus found dead

A Connecticut teacher who disappeared on his 50th birthday while quarantining over COVID-19 fears has been found dead on Long Island, police said.

The body of Gilo “Gil” Cunha – who last worked as an elementary school substitute teacher — was discovered by Suffolk County cops in the waters off Fire Island, West Haven police announced Monday.

Investigators from the two departments are now working with a medical examiner to determine Cunha’s cause and manner of death, West Haven police said.

“With respect to Mr. Cunha’s family and friends, no further information will be released at this time,” West Haven police said in a statement.

A boater discovered Cunha’s partial remains on Thursday, Suffolk County cops said.

“Detectives determined the remains were from a body that had been discovered after being struck by the propeller of a tug boat on May 27 at 6:50 a.m.,” Suffolk County police said in a statement. “The cause of death is under investigation.”

Cunha, who lived with his parents, was last seen on May 7 when he left his family’s home in the West Shore neighborhood, likely to take a walk since he was having trouble sleeping, relatives told the New Haven Register.

The Syracuse University grad – who did not take his wallet with him at the time – had self-isolated for three weeks prior to his disappearance, believing he had contracted COVID-19, relatives said.

While in quarantine, Cunha was eating very little, had trouble sleeping and appeared to lose interest in things he previously enjoyed, relatives told the newspaper.

Cunha had previously lived in Austria with his wife of five years before returning to Connecticut following a divorce. He last worked at a school in West Haven, friends and family members said.

“I’m going to miss him forever, but I’ll cherish the memories forever,” a former high school classmate, Shawn McKoy, told the newspaper. “He was a gentle soul. It is a real tragedy.”