Body found in state park
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Staff Reporter

Ashby Police found the body of apparent suicide victim in Willard Brook State Park on Monday, December 18.

Police Chief Paul Lundin said police began a search of the park around 11 a.m. after receiving information from state police about a 911-call. An adult female cell phone caller had dialed the emergency number, which was routed to the state police.

The caller appears to have been the suicide victim, said Lundin.

Police declined to release the name of the victim pending notification of family.

“In response to the call, which only gave an approximate location, the Ashby and Townsend Police Departments searched the Willard Brook State Park in Ashby,” according to Lundin’s press release. “Shortly thereafter, officers found the victim of a possible suicide.”

Middlesex District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Melissa Sherman said, “no foul play is suspected” after an on-scene investigation Monday.

“Although this was a public place, this was a personal tragedy,” Lundin said.

At no time did it appear there was a threat to the public, he said, but declined to say how the death occurred.

Local and state police spent more than three hours in Willard Brook State investigating the scene. The state park is located on the Townsend-Ashby border.

Ashby police photographed and inventoried the only car — a black Volkswagon Cabrio — in the parking lot, before Shephards’ Towing Company removed the vehicle.

The car was parked across a small driveway road near the entrance to Friends Tail, which which runs through the park. The trail is four miles long and takes about two two-and-a-half hours to hike, according to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Web site.

The body was found slightly off the trail, Lundin said.

Investigators and crime scene personnel from the Massachusetts State Police assisted the local officers with the investigation as did the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office and the Middlesex County Medical Examiner.

The Pepperell Police Department also assisted with the investigation.