Vernon's fate

Okay i wanted to say that should Vernon be considered presumed dead or unknown? Because his crew mentions him but they don't clearly say that he is dead or if he abandoned the group so i wanted to know what do you guys think do you think he is presumed dead/Dead or should he be unknown(which i think is more proper) I mean they don't really explain what happened to him they said that "First we lost Brie Then Vernon" So do you think that means he's dead or unknown?