Crime & Safety

UPDATE: District Attorney Says Body is That of Missing BC Student Franco Garcia

Reportedly there are no signs of foul play.

Editor's note: For more frequent updates than we can provide here on JP Patch, please visit our sister site, Newton Patch.

[UPDATE: 1:09 p.m.] Seven weeks after he went missing, officials say that the body pulled from Chestnut Hill Reservoir this morning is that of Boston College student .

According to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, preliminary information shows that the body in the reservoir is Garcia. Conley said items found on the body as well as clothing helped officials identify Garcia.

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Officials will be able to confirm the exact identification once a full autopsy is complete, Conley said. The autopsy results are likely to be available within the next 24 hours. 

Conley also said foul play has not been ruled out, and could not comment on whether the body was in the reservoir as the result of an accident. More information on the cause of death will be available after the autopsy. 

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In the meantime, Conley said detectives will continue the investigation. 

Justin Billard, a spokesman for the Garcia family, was on scene at the reservoir. Billard said the family is grieving privately at this time and did not wish to be at the official press conference. 

Boston College Spokesman Jack Dunn was also on scene to offer his condolences to the family. Grief counselors will be on the Boston College campus to meet with students, Dunn said. 

Grief counselors will also be available in the Newton Public Schools today, Apotheker said, as Garcia has two younger siblings who attend school in Newton. 

[UPDATE 12:46 p.m.] The District Attorney's Office confirms that preliminary findings indicate the body is that of missing Boston College student Franco Garcia.

[UPDATE 11:08 a.m.] WBZ is quoting sources as saying the body found this morning in the Chestnut Hill Reservoir is that of missing Boston College student Franco Garcia.

The sources say there are no signs of foul play.

Here is our earlier coverage of the search for Franco Garcia.

[UPDATE 10:24 a.m.]: State Police divers are packing up their equipment after two of them went into the Chestnut Hill Reservoir this hour. From where Patch reporter Melanie Graham and other media are located, it is not clear if the body has been pulled out of the water.]

[UPDATE: 9:58 a.m.] Clarification: Cousins of missing Boston College student Franco Garcia have arrived at the reservoir; his parents are not yet on-scene.

[UPDATE: 9:53 a.m.] The family of missing Boston College student Franco Garcia has just arrived on the scene at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, where a body was spotted this morning floating in the water.

The body remains unidentified, State Police have said.

Also, part of Beacon Street is closed to traffic from Cleveland Circle heading into Newton as police and fire officials prepare to pull the body from the water.

[UPDATE 9:25 a.m.] A Massachusetts State Police boat is ready at the edge of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, where a man walking his dog spotted a body in the water at about 7:45 this morning.

State Police spokesman David Procopio says that the body was floating in the water about 20 feet off the shore. The body hasn't completely surfaced yet, he said, but enough of it is protruding above the water that the police are keeping reporters back from the scene, as you can see in the accompanying photo.

Procopio said the body has not yet been identified; it has not even been confirmed yet if the body is a male or female or any other identifying details.

The State Police boat is positioned on the Chestnut Hill Avenue side of the reservoir, about 100 yards from the pump house. That is the opposite side from where they launched the search for Franco last month, although the entire reservoir was searched.

Procopio said that the man who spotted the body didn't have a mobile phone with him at the time, so he flagged down two joggers who did. They called 911, and the call was directed to the State Police.

[8:34 a.m.] The Massachusetts State Police are reporting this morning that an unidentified body has been found in the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

According to @MassStatePolice, the State Police Twitter account, troopers from the Brighton Barracks are on their way to the reservoir. 

Troopers . The search turned up with negative results. 

Residents and businesses all over Boston, , have been helping in the search for Garcia. Some businesses have given services while others display posters about the missing man in their windows.

Newton Patch is headed to the scene and will have updates as they are available. 


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