Missing Wrentham man, 73, found dead in Lake Hamilton

The search for a missing 73-year-old Wrentham man ended Wednesday when authorities found his body near a boat launch leading to a lake in Hamilton.

Authorities believe Steve Perry accidentally drove his car into the water of Lake Chebacco after becoming disoriented. He had not been seen since he got lost while driving on Saturday afternoon.

Wrentham Police Chief Bill McGrath said in a statement that it appears Perry was driving down a dark road leading to the boat dock when he accidentally entered the water and submerged his car . In a separate statement, the Hamilton Police Department confirmed that officers found Perry and his car near the ramp.

Wrentham Police had already asked for the public’s help in locating Perry after he failed to return home on Saturday.

Officers were able to reach Perry on his cell phone while he was driving, and he told them he had gotten lost after taking Interstate 495. In various phone conversations throughout the evening, the retired truck driver told officers he was in Providence; somewhere south of Hartford, Connecticut; Revere the beach; and finally Manchester-by-the-Sea.

His phone battery died late that evening and it was the last time Perry was seen or heard from, Wrentham Police said.

Perry had no diagnosed cognitive impairment, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, police said. McGrath told WHDH he thinks Perry may have become more anxious and disoriented as he struggled to get home.

Investigators tracked Perry to Chebacco Lake using license plate readers and phone searches, the outlet reported.

“I think being tired, and I know he tired easily, he took that road, didn’t see the horizon properly, where the road ended and the wharf started, and dived into water,” McGrath told WHDH. .