Body of Medfield Resident Found in Charles River Monday

Medfield Police found the body of a Medfield man in the Charles River Monday just hours after his wife reported him missing, according to police reports.

Brian Davis, 42, of 24 Adams St., Medfield, was found dead in the Charles River – not far from the shoreline – near the Sherborn line at approximately 3:24 p.m., according to Medfield Chief of Police Robert E. Meaney Jr. While the cause of death is unknown at this time, Meaney said there was no indication of trauma or foul play.

"We will not know the cause of death until the Medical Examiner makes that determination in the next few days," Meaney said Wednesday. "There was no indication of trauma or of foul play. The personnel from the ME’s office who respond to the scene are not investigators and they would not speculate, as a matter of protocol, on the potential cause of death."

At 11:55 a.m. Monday, Davis' wife reported her husband missing, telling Medfield Police she had not seen him since 5:30 p.m. Sunday, according to police reports. Officers were notified of the situation and told Davis was last seen operating a blue 1995 Chevy pickup truck, according to police reports.

Medfield Police contacted AT&T Phone Company and requested a "ping" of Davis' cell phone to retrieve an approximate location, according to Meaney.

"We received information from the phone company indicating that the phone was in the area of Hospital Road and the Charles River," said Meaney.

Using the longitude and latitude coordinates of Davis’ cell phone received from the phone company, Medfield Police were able to locate his pickup truck at the "turn around off North Meadows Road near Hospital Road" at 12:54 p.m., according to police reports.

From there, Medfield Police began the search.

"We allowed ourselves 20 to 30 minutes to do a brief search of the area to see if we could locate Mr. Davis but were unsuccessful," Meaney said. "We suspended our initial search because while our continuing efforts may locate the individual, it is more likely that we would simply contaminate the area and make it much more difficult for the specially trained dogs and personnel to do their job."

After the initial search, Meaney requested the assistance of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council K-9 units, which arrived on scene from the Department of Correction and the Ashland Police Department at approximately 2:04 p.m., according to police reports.

"The [K-9] officers are actually trained to read the terrain and search for signs and disturbances in the ground made by humans," Meaney said. "Through this combination of assets, Mr. Davis was located in the Charles River a very short distance from the shoreline in the area indicated by [his cell] phone, which was on the banking."

Davis' body was found in the Charles River off Route 27 near the Sherborn town line at approximately 3:24 p.m., according to police reports and Medfield Fire Department responded on scene to assist in removing the body from the water. The Medical Examiner arrived on scene at approximately 5:33 p.m.

Approximately 20 personnel from the Medfield Police and Fire Departments, the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council, the Massachusetts State Police and the Office of the Medical Examiner were "directly involved in the search and recovery," according to Meaney.

All units were clear of the scene at approximately 6 p.m. Monday.

On Tuesday, Davis' obituary was published on _Roberts Mitchell Funeral Service's website.