A Massachusetts man who's been missing for nearly a month was found dead Monday in New Hampshire, authorities said.
William Donovan, who was missing since April 16, was found at about 10:30 a.m. by searchers in the Dry River, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said.
Searchers were directed to that area after gear and a jacket, believed to belong to 65-year-old Donovan, were found in the river over the weekend by hikers, according to authorities.
"This evidence helped focus the search and his body was ultimately located approximately 400 feet upstream from the jacket," said the Fish and Game Department in a release Monday.
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The body was discovered just over 2.5 miles in from Route 302, authorities said.
"The searchers worked for hours to extricate the body from beneath a large boulder," said the Fish and Game Department.
While it's unclear what brought Donovan to the Dry River Wilderness or how he entered the water, authorities say it appears he was "somehow forced off the ridge, likely due to high winds or adverse weather" between Mt. Monroe and Mt. Eisenhower during his hike.
The 65-year-old ended up in "very difficult and desolate terrain" of the Dry River Wilderness, authorities said.
His body was taken to the State Medical Examiners Officer in Concord for an autopsy.
