Arizona teen Johnathan Croom went missing, but was found dead in Oregon woods on Monday.
The 18-year-old was found dead 1,000 feet from his car and no foul play is suspected, according to CNN. Dwes Hutson, public information officer for the County Sheriff’s Office, said the death is being investigated as a suicide.
On Tuesday, Croom’s father, David spoke out saying, “John made us feel like he was OK, but he was really hurting inside.”
When Croom went missing, it was worried that he might be trying to copy Into The Wild, which was a movie he had become fixated with. “He’s been watching the movie a lot,” David Croom said before his son was found dead.
USA Today reports that Johnathan told his friend “that it would be great to just leave penniless and just work along the way and get resources like they did in the movie.”
As previously reported, Croom went missing Aug. 16. He was returning to Arizona after visiting a friend in Seattle.
USA Today also notes that a 19-year-old Oklahoman disappeared after reading Into The Wild and wanting to experience the Oregon wilderness.