Missing Photographer Peter Beard (82) found Dead

Image courtesy to Peter Beard Studio

Photographer Peter Beard, world-renowned for his beautiful and intimate images of Africa and African wildlife, was found dead at age 82 after he went missing from his Montauk, New York, home on April 1.

On Sunday, his family confirmed Beard’s death in a statement shared on social media. “We are all heartbroken by the confirmation of our beloved Peter’s death. We want to express our deep gratitude to the East Hampton police and all who aided them in their search, and also to thank the many friends of Peter and our family who have sent messages of love and support during these dark days,” the statement read.

“Peter was an extraordinary man who led an exceptional life. He lived life to the fullest; he squeezed every drop out of every day. He was relentless in his passion for nature, unvarnished and unsentimental but utterly authentic always. He was an intrepid explorer, unfailingly generous, charismatic, and discerning,” the statement continued.

Image courtesy to Peter Beard Studio

“Peter defined what it means to be open: open to new ideas, new encounters, new people, new ways of living and being. Always insatiably curious, he pursued his passions without restraints and perceived reality through a unique lens. Anyone who spent time in his company was swept up by his enthusiasm and his energy. He was a pioneering contemporary artist who was decades ahead of his time in his efforts to sound the alarm about environmental damage. His visual acuity and elemental understanding of the natural environment was fostered by his long stays in the bush and the ‘wild-deer-ness’ he loved and defended. He died where he lived: in nature. We will miss him every day,” the statement concluded.

n the hours after Beard was reported missing, police were concerned Beard could be in immediate need of medical attention due to his battle with dementia — a disease of the brain that affects memory loss and judgment. Dozens of police and firefighters participated in the research, using dogs, drones and thermal imaging equipment, the New York Times reported.

© Provided by People Bettmann/Getty Peter Beard photograph of 20-year-old model Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid, also known as Iman

At the time, Beard’s wife, Nejma Beard, did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment. The couple and daughter Zara split their time between Montauk, New York City and Kenya, according to Beard’s website. 

For more than half his life, Beard dedicated himself documenting life in Africa, from its people to its animals, spurred on by a need to shine a lot on the continent.

“The wilderness is gone,” the artist was quoting saying by Vanity Fair in 1996, “and with it much more than we can appreciate or predict. We’ll suffer for it.”