2 bodies found in New Hampshire believed to be grandfather, grandson missing since Labor Day
Jerry Proper, 69, and his 22-year-old grandson Cody Pillsbury were reported missing after they didn’t return from a Monday motorcycle ride.
Authorities in New Hampshire discovered the bodies of two men on Thursday, believed to be the remains of a grandfather and grandson who were reported missing this week after they didn’t return from a motorcycle ride.
Newport police said 69-year-old Jerry Proper and his 22-year-old grandson Cody Pillsbury left the Newport area on Labor Day just after 2 p.m., riding a red 2001 Honda GL18R1 Trike. Family members reported them missing Tuesday after they didn’t return home to Newport as planned.
“Investigators received a massive response from the public, including both information and offers of assistance in the search,” police said in a statement on Friday.
The department partnered with multiple agencies in their investigation, conducting both air and ground searches with law enforcement agencies and civilian volunteers. According to police, late Thursday afternoon investigators received sophisticated cell tower data analysis, which led them to focus their search around an area of Route 4 in Salisbury and Boscawen.
Around 5 p.m., authorities located a motor vehicle crash scene in a heavily wooded area off Route 4 in Boscawen. The two bodies, believed to be Proper and Pillsbury, were discovered at the scene, but authorities said Friday official identification remains pending by the New Hampshire Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“Initial investigation at the scene of the collision indicates that Proper and Pillsbury were riding southbound on Route 4 in Boscawen, when they struck a deer in the roadway,” police said. “Their motorcycle left the roadway and came to final rest in a dense swamp. However, a final determination as to the cause of the collision is pending a full joint investigation by the Boscawen Police Department and New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit.”
The department thanked the public and members of law enforcement who assisted in the search, and asked anyone with additional information to contact Newport Police Detective Stephen A. Lee at 603-863-3232 or [email protected].
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