Police sources have confirmed to News4 that the dead man found in a ventilation shaft in Adams Morgan is Michael Poe -- the 23-year-old Montgomery County man who went missing on New Year's Eve.

Poe, 23, went out in the northwest D.C. neighborhood with a big group Monday night, but no one had seen him since he left the bar Shenanigans on 18th Street about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

He was last heard from via cell phone about 2:30 a.m., News4's Jackie Bensen reported. Searchers said that Poe indicated he was celebrating on a roof, which they took to mean he was at a rooftop bar. Searchers went to every rooftop bar in Adams Morgan Wednesday evening.

Late Wednesday night, Poe's body was found in the ventilation shaft of The Haddington apartment building at 1840 Biltmore St. NW, a few blocks from where he was last seen. A resident called police Wednesday night to report an unconscious person.

Police responded and found the man dead inside the shaft -- authorities suspect he fell down the shaft, possibly from the roof.



“It’s very early in the investigation, and right now it appears it was an accidental fall,” Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.

Before the body was found, Poe's father, Steven Poe told News4, “It’s unbelievable, the emptiness we feel, my wife and I both, and all this support group we have here as well. This is the town of Poolesville and surrounding people. The Facebook and people coming out has been tremendous.”