Body of man missing for 2 months found in ‘depths of a well’ outside his home, cops say
The body of a 45-year-old man who went missing more than two months ago was found in the “depths of a well” outside his Massachusetts home, authorities said.
Keith McKechnie, of Avon, disappeared after leaving his home on Sept. 7, according to a Nov. 22 news release from the Avon Police Department.
On Nov. 25, McKechnie’s relative found him dead inside a well on his property, Avon police and the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office confirmed in a news release issued that day.
Police and McKechnie’s loved ones had been searching for him since his disappearance, according to authorities.
“Our thoughts are very much with the McKechnie family tonight,” District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said in a statement. “This is a very sad result.”
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston performed an autopsy of McKechnie’s body, district attorney office press officer David Traub told McClatchy News in a statement on Nov. 27.
“The preliminary information from the autopsy does not suggest foul play or any sign of suspicious trauma,” Traub said.
“No obvious signs of trauma” were seen when Massachusetts State Police homicide investigators and other officials initially looked at McKechnie’s body on Nov. 25, authorities said.
McKechnie’s brother told NBC10 Boston that a relative was searching the well with a GoPro camera when they found McKechnie’s body Nov. 25.
Avon police told NBC10 Boston they had “visually searched” the well before the relative found McKechnie.
According to Traub, investigators searched the well “at ground level.”
He told McClatchy News a cadaver dog was also “deployed directly at and around the well site” and added that the canine “did not hit on the scent at that time.”
The investigation into McKechnie’s death is ongoing, Traub said.
Christine Connolly, McKechnie’s cousin, told NBC10 that the family “felt something nefarious happened because Keith didn’t have his wallet, cell phone or his glasses.”
“The glasses were found by the well on the ground. We were told that they had determined due to the size of the well and Keith’s build, he wouldn’t fit,” Connolly said.
McKechnie was known to walk around his neighborhood, according to authorities.
Avon is about 20 miles south of Boston.
This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Body of man missing for 2 months found in ‘depths of a well’ outside his home, cops say."
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