Missing NH man found in Connecticut River

A man who had been missing for a week was found submerged inside his vehicle in the Connecticut River near the Mt. Orne covered bridge in Lancaster, New Hampshire, this weekend.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says conservation officers located Stephen Paquette’s body Saturday morning, a day after Lancaster police requested the agency do a specialized search of the river.

According to the fish and game department, Lancaster police officers first went to the area on Friday to follow up on information received about the the 41-year-old Littleton, NH, resident, who had not been heard from in a week. While checking it out, officers found a set of vehicle tracks that crossed a hay field and ended at the bank of the river adjacent to Route 135.

Once they saw that, Lancaster police called on the fish and game department for help.

Around 8:19 a.m. Saturday, a conservation officer using a drone discovered a vehicle in the river near where the tracks ended at the riverbank, officials said. Additional officers were able to then view and search the vehicle under water using a remotely operated vehicle, which confirmed the submerged vehicle was registered to Paquette, and that there was an individual inside of it.

A heavy wrecker was brought to the scene, and fish and game divers hooked up cables to the vehicle under water, which was subsequently winched out of the water and up the bank.

At about 1 p.m., investigators confirmed that there was a single individual within the vehicle and identified him as Paquette, officials said.

Further information about how Paquette’s vehicle ended up in the water were not shared.

Although this investigation culminated in a sad outcome, officials noted that many agencies contributed to the mission, including Lancaster police, Littleton police, state police, marine patrol, Lancaster fire, fish and game and more.