WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Massachusetts State Police conducted a search along the Westfield River on Tuesday for a man who they say ran away from police during a traffic stop.
According to Massachusetts State Police Spokesperson Dave Procopio, a body was found Tuesday in Powdermill Brook that they believe to be 24-year-old Yoniel Monsanto Maldonado of Westfield, and the family has been notified.
The State Police Special Emergency Response Team, K-9 Unit, and Westfield Police searched along the Westfield River off Union Street beginning at 9 a.m. The body, which matches the description of Monsanto Maldonado, was found at around 11 a.m. in a stream in a wooded and swampy area near Union Street.
PHOTOS: Search for missing Yoniel Monsanto
Procopio told 22News that State Police conducted a motor vehicle stop after determining that its insurance had been revoked. The Trooper pulled the car over on Union Street, near Eastwood Drive just after 12 a.m. on Sunday. He ran from State Police and entered the woods along the river in temperatures below zero and has not been seen since.
Police located approximately 250 grams of suspected heroin inside a fanny pack that was found during an inventory search of the suspect’s 2003 Subaru Forester.
Members of the State Police Special Emergency Response Team, along with the State Police K9 Unit and a Trooper from the State Police Detective Unit for Hampden County assisted in the search.