A man fishing Saturday morning discovered a body authorities believe is the person dive teams began searching for Thursday night after a truck found parked in a rest stop on Route 2 was determined to belong to a man sought by Norfolk Police, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
Rescue teams had searched the Connecticut River below the French King Bridge Thursday evening until conditions called a halt to the search, and again Friday. Search teams had planned to search again Saturday.
The man fishing was about a half mile north of the French King Bridge on the Gill side of the Connecticut River when he discovered the body and called 911. Police recovered the body, which was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner who will determine a cause of death, according to Laurie Loisel, communication and outreach director with the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
The search began after a truck was discovered apparently abandoned at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, at which time a records check revealed it belonged to a 55-year-old Millis man for whom Norfolk Police had issued a Be On The Lookout (BOLO) alert in connection with an incident reported earlier in the day.
A Montague Police canine search team searched the area around the bridge connecting Gill and Erving and the rest area where the truck was parked, with its keys inside, but found nobody.
Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Team members worked with Environmental Police and State Police troopers assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, as well as members of the Northfield, Turners Falls and Greenfield fire departments, to search the river Thursday before the mission was called off at 8:50 p.m. due to light and weather conditions.
Northfield Fire Chief and Northfield Dive/Rescue Team leader Floyd “Skip” Dunnell III said they “dove extensively” on Friday but the “torrential rains” created difficult current and visibility conditions.
No foul play is suspected. The matter remains under investigation.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.