Yeah I'm guessing the family knew where he was the whole time, and only started "helping" when it seemed obvious he was dead, probably from lack of whatever cryptic contact he was supposed to make to indicate he was okay.
I guess the only remaining question is whether he killed himself or died somehow in the elements, but suicide is the huge favorite here.
I made a bet with a buddy almost 30 days ago. I have suicide and he has the field. There was 10 hours left in our 30 day bet when the body was found. Now we just wait for the autopsy results.
It's hilarious that we as a society think everyone can be a dr, a lawyer, an engineer. Some people are just fucking stupid. Why can't we just accept that?