Bristol police find car of missing man and a body inside

The Bristol police have found a body inside a car owned by a missing 76-year-old man.

The state Medical Examiner's Office has been brought in to positively identify the body and investigate the cause of death, the Bristol police said in a press release.

The police had earlier asked for the public's help in locating Alan Mello, who'd last been in contact with family and friends on May 13 and was reported missing Monday.

After learning that Mello had gone to Norton, Massachusetts, to visit a friend before he went missing, detectives began retracing the route they thought he'd have taken on the way back, Maj. Brian Burke said in the press release. At about 10:24 a.m. Friday, the police found Mello's red Toyota in "extremely dense overgrowth and brush" off Metacom Avenue, the police said.

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"There were no skid marks or debris that would have alerted anyone that a vehicle had traveled off the roadway," the police said.

A man's body was in the driver's seat.

The initial investigation hasn't revealed foul play or circumstances, the police said. The police say they will try to determine why the car went off the road.

The Bristol Fire Department helped clear the overgrowth, so investigators could process the scene, the police said.

"Chief (Kevin) Lynch and the members of the Bristol Police Department extend their thoughts and sympathy to the family of Alan Mello during this difficult time," the police said.