The body of a Massachusetts man who disappeared after calling 911 has been discovered in a marshland, according to police.
Dickson De Los Reyes, 24, known as Joel, was last seen at a house party on 11 June. He called for a Lyft rideshare car to take him home around 3:42am.
About 14 minutes after De Los Reyes was seen getting into the car, the Lyft ride was mysteriously cancelled and he called 911, but the call disconnected before it got through to the dispatcher – and when the authorities repeatedly tried to call his phone back they could not get through.
In a statement, a Lyft spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Mr. De Los Reyes’ family and loved ones during this difficult time. We are in touch with law enforcement and assisting with their investigation.”
Police found De Los Reyes’ body five days after he vanished, with a State Police helicopter on Friday locating the body in Rumney Marsh Reservation, which is around a 14-minute drive from the address where De Los Reyes was last seen, according to Google Maps.
Prior to his discovery, police had focused their searches on nearby waterways, including Diamond Creek. Law enforcement agencies deployed dive teams to help assist with the search.
An autopsy is expected to take several weeks to complete, with funeral plans not yet underway for the young man, who had studied to be a doctor in his native Guatemala and had plans to take up the profession in the US.
A friend said the man’s family is currently unconsolable.
“Right now, there isn’t a word of comfort that can console [the parents] because it is a hit that is too hard,” Regino Ortez, a friend of Mr De Los Reyes, said during an interview with Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra. “That, for them right now, is striking, the pain they feel.”
Mr De Los Reyes’ family attended the Ministerio Internacional Cristo Vive in Everett and had been members of the church for several years. It held a remembrance service for De Los Reyes over the weekend.
“He loved his father, he loved his mom, he loved his sister,” Marvin Villanueva, a family friend, told the Boston Globe. “He wasn’t a party guy; he was a church guy. It’s sad because it’s a life, and we’re never going to see the guy again.”
