Wrentham man, 73, found dead in Hamilton lake after apparently getting disoriented driving home

The search for a missing 73-year-old Wrentham man came to an end Wednesday as officials found his body near a boat ramp to a lake in Hamilton.

Authorities believe Steve Perry accidentally drove his car into the water at Chebacco Lake after becoming disoriented. He had not been seen since getting lost while driving Saturday afternoon. 

Wrentham Police Chief Bill McGrath said in a statement that it appears Perry had been traveling on a dark road that led to the boat landing when he accidentally drove into the water and submerged his car. In a separate release, the Hamilton Police Department confirmed that officials found Perry and his car near the ramp. 

Wrentham police had previously asked for the public’s help finding Perry after he failed to return home Saturday. 

Police officers were able to reach Perry on his cellphone as he drove, and he told them he became lost after getting on Interstate 495. During various phone conversations throughout the evening, the retired truck driver told officers he was in Providence; somewhere south of Hartford, Connecticut; Revere Beach; and finally Manchester-by-the-Sea. 

His phone battery died late in the evening, and that was the last time Perry was seen or heard from, Wrentham police said. 

Perry had no diagnosed cognitive impairment, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s, police said. McGrath told WHDH he believed Perry may have become more anxious and disoriented as he struggled to find his way home. 

Investigators tracked Perry to Chebacco Lake using license plate readers and phone tracing, the news outlet reported.

“I think, being tired, and I know he got tired easily, that he went down that road, didn’t quite visualize the horizon correctly where the road ended and the boat dock began, and plunged into the water,” McGrath told WHDH.