Body of missing Springfield man found in Chicopee
SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – Authorities have located the body of a Springfield man who was reported missing nearly two years ago.
Jim Leydon, spokesperson for the Hampden District Attorney’s Office, said that Chicopee Police received information on March 23 of potential human remains in a wooded area off of Memorial Drive. Investigators arrived and found that what was at the scene had been there for some time.
The body was recovered and an investigation led the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to positively identify the body as 63-year-old Gary Belder, who was reported missing to Springfield Police on July 8, 2021. Belder hadn’t been accounted for since July 5, 2021 when he reportedly left his house and never returned.
Leydon noted that foul play is not suspected in Belder’s death, but the investigation remains ongoing by Chicopee Police and State Police detectives assigned to the D.A.’s office.
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