STATE POLICE REPORT – SALISBURY – At approximately 11:20 AM today Massachusetts State Police Troopers located an abandoned vehicle parked in the breakdown lane of Route 95 South, south of the Whittier Bridge in Newburyport. The bridge spans the Merrimack River.
No motorist was located around the vehicle, but Troopers located personal items inside the vehicle that allowed them to identify a person associated with it as a 70-year-old Beverly woman. MSP requested that Beverly Police check the woman’s address; Officers did so and determined that the woman was not there.
MSP and local police patrols, along with the State Police Air Wing, K9 Unit, and Underwater Recovery Unit, as well as Environmental Police, local police Marine assets, and the US Coast Guard responded to the area to search for the woman by land, water, and air.
At approximately 3:15 PM, Salisbury Police advised State Police that a canoeist in wetlands along the river located a body in the water. The body was recovered by the Coast Guard and transported by boat to the USCG Station-Merrimack River in Newburyport. Troopers from the State Police Detective Unit for Essex County and the State Police Crime Services Section responded to USCG Station-Merrimack River, as did the Medical Examiner’s Office. Investigation by Troopers confirmed that the person recovered was the motorist whose car was found on Route 95 South
The investigation into the cause and manner of the woman’s death is ongoing. Her name is not being released at this time.
Woman’s Car Triggered Today’s State Police Investigation – Related Story
West Newbury Police Provide Update on Car Found Outside Page School
WEST NEWBURY — The West Newbury Police Department would like to provide an update on an incident in which a vehicle and driver were found in a heavily-wooded area near the Page School on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, at approximately 10:30 a.m., West Newbury Police and Fire responded to the school for a report of a vehicle parked in the woods near the school.
The vehicle was found about 500 feet off the road in a wooded area by a resident who was out for a walk. That resident contacted police, who found the vehicle’s driver sitting outside of the vehicle exhibiting symptoms consistent with exposure and possible hypothermia.
The West Newbury Fire Department used a Gator off-road-vehicle to transport that individual back to the road, and from there an ambulance transported the individual to Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport for treatment.
The vehicle is of interest to police in Newburyport and West Newbury, who are investigating an incident in which a vehicle crashed through a gate at a municipally owned property on Emery Lane in West Newbury and then crashed through another gate on a portion of the property that connects to Curzon Mill Road in Newburyport.
That incident remains under investigation by West Newbury and Newburyport Police.
Out of an abundance of caution, the Page School was placed in secure mode, meaning no one was allowed to enter or leave the building. Pre-K students were dismissed as scheduled at 11:15 a.m., and the school day continued as normal aside from students being kept inside throughout the day.
There is no danger to the school community.
The established school safety and security policies in place in the Pentucket Regional School District were followed, and police, fire and school officials are all in contact with each other.
Police will have an increased presence around the school as a result of the investigation into the vehicle.
