An elderly man whose sudden disappearance more than a decade ago sparked a major missing person investigation could have died that very night, a coroner has said.

The skeletal remains of Hull’s Michael Conboy, aged 80 when he vanished without trace in 2009, were discovered along a rarely used railway embankment in 2022.

Suffering from confusion and memory issues after a viral infection, an inquest has now heard that he likely died of natural causes.

Professor Paul Marks, at Hull Coroners Court, said there was no evidence to suggest trauma such as that of being struck by a train. Recording a narrative verdict, he said: "Michael Conboy suffered from a presumed viral illness which left him with confusion and memory issues. He probably left home late on the night of April 19, 2009, and wandered towards the railway tracks near Brackley Park where he died, possibly of natural causes but not from trauma. There were no suspicious circumstances.”

Hull pensioner Michael Conboy, 81, who has been missing since April 2009.

Mr Conboy, known as Mick, was reported missing after a late night phone call with his sister in which he was acting confused. Realising he wasn't well, she suggested they visit his doctor the very next day. By the time of the family's arrival, he had vanished without a trace.

A groundsman of 30 years, Mr Conboy worked in the council parks department before retiring, the inquest heard. His long term partner, Maude, died of cancer some years before. Two of Mr Conboy's nephews were in attendance to hear the coroner's findings yesterday.

Born and brought up in Hull, he was the third of six children and had a twin sister called Nora, the court heard. All through his life, the family said, Mr Conboy had been fit and well and he hadn't needed to visit the doctor in over 30 years. But in the months before his disappearance he had fallen ill and been admitted to Castle Hill Hospital where he was treated for a viral infection. On his return home, they said, he became confused.

Mr Conboy was reported missing on April 20, 2009. His body was discovered by a dog walker along a rarely used railway embankment in Brackley Park on December 7, 2022.

Michael Conboy, 80, of Saxcourt, Hull who was reported missing on the morning of Monday April 20.

A key ring from New Zealand was to prove the crucial link in alerting Mr Conboy's family, who have featured in numerous press conferences and national missing person appeals over the years.

With the new evidence previous hearings were quashed to record a narrative decision. Although the exact cause of his death remains unascertained, the coroner said, any suggestion of significant trauma could now be excluded. Thanking the family for their patience, he added: "I do hope that the additional information will give you some degree of closure as to what happened to Mick that fateful night."

Michael Conboy: Missing Hull pensioner may have died on night he vanished 14 years ago, inquest finds, after human remains discovered in deep undergrowth