PLYMOUTH − The Plymouth County district attorney’s office is investigating the death of a Plymouth man whose body was found Saturday after a four-day search.
Rodney Riviello’s body was found at an undisclosed outdoor location in Plymouth, WCVB reported.
He was last seen last Tuesday at 11:15 a.m. as he was leaving Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth. Numerous searches were conducted in Plymouth, including the town’s Cedarville and Manomet sections.
Searchers also reviewed footage from closed-circuit televisions and security cameras. A reward had been offered for information about his location.
No details were available on where Riviello’s body was found.
Detectives assigned to the district attorney’s office are investigating, spokeswoman Beth Stone said in an email Monday.
“Local police departments contact our State Police Detective Unit whenever they have an unattended death occur to investigate,” she said.
Riviello’s relatives said he suffered from memory issues and was a few weeks away from celebrating his 70th birthday.
In an interview Friday with the Cape Cod Times, Dan Riviello said the last time his dad was seen was at about 11 a.m. Tuesday as he was leaving the hospital. The family thinks he went out for his usual morning walk at about 7 a.m. that day.
“We don’t know exactly what happened to get him to the hospital,” Dan Riviello told the Times, though there was a report his father had fallen on the sidewalk and an ambulance was called, picked him up and took him to the hospital about 6 miles from his home in Manomet.
He was seen in the emergency room and then discharged. He did not have a wallet or identification with him.
“They were working to get him a ride with a cab or a Lyft, but he walked off,” Dan Riviello said.
Rodney Riviello did not have any diagnosed dementia, but his son said he had developed memory issues over the last couple of years, and “he doesn’t have critical thinking or problem-solving skills,” he told the Times.
More:$5K reward offered for information on whereabouts of missing Plymouth man
After his body was found Saturday, the family issued a statement thanking those involved in the search.
“We are devastated by the loss of our dad. This entire ordeal has been extremely difficult and unbelievable. The only comfort we’ve had this week was holding onto the hope that dad would come home safe and relying on the incredible support that our family, friends, the media and the community of Plymouth have shown us,” the family wrote.
“Thank you to the Plymouth Police Department and all of the public safety agencies who have worked tirelessly since Tuesday to find our dad. And to the volunteers who have organized, searched, prayed, donated food and held us in their hearts. We will never be able to adequately thank you enough.”