Found Deceased MA - Michael Doherty, 20, Franklin, 14 May 2017

[RainMH11]

this is a really odd one. so they find one shoe and a shirt near the marsh and then the second shoe at the edge of the golf course---signalling that he made it through the marsh. and as someone else noted the latest scent from the bloodhound shows him in an area facing an opposite direction from his house. i don't know what would make someone take off a shoe, unless it falls off somehow or is taken off.

let's put this in perspective---if i'm somewhat drunk and incoherent and i decide that i want to make a 25 minute walk to my parents house in the pouring rain, the last thing i'm probably going to do is stop to take off one shoe. now if I somehow find myself waist deep in a marsh, maybe i panic and try to rip off my shoes, thinking i'll need to swim to safety. so if that's the case, he manages to get one shoe off, gets out of the marsh and with the other one soaking wet, decides that it will be easier to resume walking barefoot for the remainder of this journey.

I'm utterly baffled on this one. the two locations of the shoes makes it seem to me that he was a) on the run from someone or something or b) he ran into the wrong people or person at the wrong time

Yeah my first thought was, okay, he took off his shoes to cross Mine Brook without destroying them - but the location of the first shoe makes no sense.

 

[RainMH11]

I haven't looked at a map of the area but it's also possible he was hit by a car and they disposed of the body. Probably not a very likely scenario but still a possibility...

Maybe if he tried to cross the highway (495) but Pond St... this part of Pond St. is well lit with sidewalks on both sides. There are plenty of streets in Franklin where you're likely to be hit by a car, but while Pond St IS a busy road, it's not an especially dangerous one. Unless you're stumbling around drunk in the middle of the street, obviously.

(I'm from the area.)

If someone hit him on 495, though, I can see absolutely zero reason to bother disposing of the body. It would be easy enough at 1am to drive away and if you weren't local, who would ever know?

 

[RainMH11]

minor correction--as i read one article that said first shoe/shirt was found near oak street extension--which indicates that he was at least initially headed north in the right direction...

.

Actually, if you look here:

http://www.wcvb.com/article/clothing-shoes-found-during-search-for-missing-student/9659314

It indicates that the bloodhounds found scent in the area around Maple & Pine St, so the angle of your arrows is a teeny bit off. Actually... if he walked down Phyllis then entered at Oak St Ext it would be almost a straight line at that spot down the old railroad embankment, which you can see the outline of on the map. Probably not the way he went if he was drunk and disoriented, but mildly interesting.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...used-to-cross-the-body-of-picture-id643448286

 

[cdogstu99]

Actually, if you look here:

http://www.wcvb.com/article/clothing-shoes-found-during-search-for-missing-student/9659314

It indicates that the bloodhounds found scent in the area around Maple & Pine St, so the angle of your arrows is a teeny bit off. Actually... if he walked down Phyllis then entered at Oak St Ext it would be almost a straight line at that spot down the old railroad embankment, which you can see the outline of on the map. Probably not the way he went if he was drunk and disoriented, but mildly interesting.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...used-to-cross-the-body-of-picture-id643448286

Got it thanks for the clarification. Man watching those videos of the divers mucking around in the marsh is not very encouraging. Lots of area and water for someone to stumble into.


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[cdogstu99]

Cdogstu99....great job with the maps. I wonder how accurate the scent dog is? Over the winter a woman was missing in Sanford Maine I believe and the dog tracked her to a spot several miles away. She was later found only a few hundred yards from where she disappeared in Sanford.
Even if he was partially inebriated, I can understand getting lost in an area like that on a rainy night with poor visibility.

That's a very good question and I think you are right in that it's probably impossible to tell how accurate some of these dogs might be.


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[Yemelyan]

Third day of searching has begun. No real updates came through local news overnight but here is an article that contains some quotes from a Franklin police sergeant, including some info on the locations in which the shoes and shirt were found.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/lo...ng_student_s_clothing_found_as_search_expands

I think it's interesting that in all descriptions of his clothing that he was wearing at night, there's no mention of a jacket. It was really chilly here Saturday into Sunday. It does make me wonder about hypothermia.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Vigil held for missing student after search expands to neighboring town

http://www.wcvb.com/article/clothing-shoes-found-during-search-for-missing-student/9659314

 

[DakotaMayi]

Flyer:

 

[Claire020]

(Hi! I'm new!)

This whole thing reminds me of the case of Taylor Meyer in 2008 in Norfolk MA. She was a teen who was out drinking with friends and wound up drowning in a marsh after wandering away. She was found 3 days later. It doesn't really add much to investigation but it's what comes to mind.

Also, I'm a little curious about how the shoes were found. Also, it might not matter but I know sometimes the mud of a marsh will kind of suck your shoes off and get stuck in the mud. Is this the case here or were they found above the mud as if they were placed there?

We have a lot of coyote activity in this area, too. My knowledge on the animal is very limited-- but is that completely out of the realm of possibility? Just a thought.

 

[Beth11311]

(Hi! I'm new!)

This whole thing reminds me of the case of Taylor Meyer in 2008 in Norfolk MA. She was a teen who was out drinking with friends and wound up drowning in a marsh after wandering away. She was found 3 days later. It doesn't really add much to investigation but it's what comes to mind.

Also, I'm a little curious about how the shoes were found. Also, it might not matter but I know sometimes the mud of a marsh will kind of suck your shoes off and get stuck in the mud. Is this the case here or were they found above the mud as if they were placed there?

We have a lot of coyote activity in this area, too. My knowledge on the animal is very limited-- but is that completely out of the realm of possibility? Just a thought.

I remember that case! And WELCOME to WS!!!! Coyotes are scavengers by nature, so they wouldn't attack a human. That being said if there was someone deceased they would be amenable to consuming them, but I don't think all of them, as awful as that sounds...


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[Jmoose]

I remember that case! And WELCOME to WS!!!! Coyotes are scavengers by nature, so they wouldn't attack a human. That being said if there was someone deceased they would be amenable to consuming them, but I don't think all of them, as awful as that sounds...


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I agree with this, regarding coyotes. They typically avoid humans, unless they are rabid, but have no problem scavenging, so I don't think this would have been an issue. That one of the shoes could have been on the other side of the marsh, and that the dogs had his scent up to Maple st is interesting, though-I do wonder about this information...not sure it will end up being accurate, especially since there are divers searching the deep parts of the marsh. I wonder if they think he doubled back and encountered the marsh a second time when he realized he was going the wrong way to get home?

 

[Aleph]

I wouldn't rule out a pack of coyotes attacking a human. I know someone who was surrounded by coyotes and only the blue lights and sirens of LE arriving scared them off. If she hadn't had her cellphone, I doubt it would have turned out well for her. If Doherty were passed out on the ground, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a coyote attack. It might explain why we haven't found a body yet.

Obviously, I hope this kid is found alive and that I'm completely incorrect.


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[majikbeans]

None of these are anywhere near Franklin, MA, for the record. Boston is about 45 minutes to an hour from Franklin (on a good day) and Newton is right outside Boston - ie, close enough to be on the Green Line of the subway.

http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/subway/lines/stations/?stopId=15605

Another Boston young man missing:
Lexington police are investigating the disappearance of a 26-year-old man last seen on Thursday, according Captain John Mazerall.

Ram Jayakumar drove away from his home on May 11, telling his parents he would be back in an hour. He did not return, Mazearall said.

His car was located the next morning parked on Bay State Road, near Silber Way, in Boston.

Jayakumar, a graduate of Brown University, had a blue backpack when he left. A man of Indian descent, Jayakumar has black hair and wears glasses. He stands about 5-foot-6 tall and weighs about 120 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Lexington Police at 781-862-1212.

 

[JerseyGirl]

the latest:

Investigators have interviewed more than 30 people who were at the house party with Doherty Saturday night. Friends say he left in the rain with little cell phone battery.

Police do not suspect foul play.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/05/...hael-doherty-missing-duke-university-student/

 

[JerseyGirl]

A friend said Doherty texted his brothers asking for a ride, but it was late and they were already asleep. Doherty ultimately decided to walk roughly a mile to his home.

They found a shirt and shoe on one side of the water and another shoe on the opposite embankment. They said it does not appear they washed up there, based on their condition.

http://www.necn.com/news/new-englan...issing-Duke-University-Student-422718774.html

 

[zelmajane]

A friend said Doherty texted his brothers asking for a ride, but it was late and they were already asleep. Doherty ultimately decided to walk roughly a mile to his home.


http://www.necn.com/news/new-englan...issing-Duke-University-Student-422718774.html

Ugh. His poor brothers.

 

[msphilosopher]

I'm so confused. Why would he turn down a ride from his friends, but text his brothers for a ride?

I wouldn't let a friend walk alone at 1:30 AM even if it was "just a mile".

 

[Claire020]

I can't speak to why he would turn down a ride, but I grew up in Franklin. It's definitely a town you don't think twice about walking alone in, even at night and especially when you're a 20 year old group of men in a relatively secluded neighborhood that that area is. Not saying that letting someone leave alone is the right call, just know the town and the mindset a lot of people in it.

 

[Dionysia]

I can't speak to why he would turn down a ride, but I grew up in Franklin. It's definitely a town you don't think twice about walking alone in, even at night and especially when you're a 20 year old group of men in a relatively secluded neighborhood that that area is. Not saying that letting someone leave alone is the right call, just know the town and the mindset a lot of people in it.

Agreed.

I live a couple of towns away and it really is a safe, quiet, and suburban area.

 

[msphilosopher]

I can't speak to why he would turn down a ride, but I grew up in Franklin. It's definitely a town you don't think twice about walking alone in, even at night and especially when you're a 20 year old group of men in a relatively secluded neighborhood that that area is. Not saying that letting someone leave alone is the right call, just know the town and the mindset a lot of people in it.

:welcome: Glad to have a local here giving us fresh insights!