Westerly Police Say Body Found Is Missing Pawcatuck Man

WESTERLY, RI—Westerly Police Chief Shawn Lacey says a body discovered Wednesday in a ravine near St. Sebastian Cemetery, near Margin Street on the Rhode Island side of the Pawcatuck River is that of Daniel Holly, 52, who was reported missing last week.

The body was discovered by a person walking their dog Wednesday afternoon between the edge of the cemetery and the river. Lacey told Patch the man lives near the cemetery, retrieved binoculars from his home and then contacted police.

Lacey said Thursday that an autopsy confirmed the body was that of Holly, but a cause of death has not been determined as of yet.

Six days after he'd last been seen, on the request of police in Stonington, the Connecticut State Police issued a Silver Alert for Holly who was last seen in Pawcatuck in the early morning hours of Saturday June 1, 2019.

In an interview with Patch Thursday morning, Lacey said Westerly Police had contact with Holly twice the day before he was last seen. On May 31, police transported Holly to the Westerly Hospital in the early afternoon. Lacey said he was intoxicated. But later that night, Holly had apparently walked into a house on Westminster Street thinking it was his own. Lacey said Holly was very disoriented and confused and the chief said that was not characteristic of the man. He was again taken to the hospital, just a block from Westminster.

While in the ER, Holly encountered his friend John Briggs who Lacey said had been taken to the hospital earlier in the day. The two men left the hospital after 2 a.m. The police chief said security camera images captured Holly walking on Wells Street with Briggs behind him. That was the last time Holly was seen. Lacey also told Patch that a woman found Holly's wallet on John Street days after his disappearance. Lacey said it's not clear if Holly lost it when he was in the area of John and Westminster near the hospital on May 31. That will be part of the investigation, he said.

Lacey said that Westerly and Stonington police had been on the river searching, unsuccessfully, for Holly for several hours Wednesday. Lacey said he was among officers in boats on the Pawcatuck. Shortly after police abandoned their search, that's when they were contacted by the resident who found Holly's body in a sometimes-marshy area between the cemetery, the Westerly wastewater treatment plant and the Pawcatcuk River.

Lacey said there are many rumors and police have spoken to many people, but he said that police won't know if the death is in any way suspicious until the medical examiner has determined the cause of death. That determination is expected today, Lacey said.

Lacey said Holly was a non-violent, well-known fixture in the communities. He called the death "very sad."

Holly is described as a 'gentle soul'

On a Stonington Community page, some have said Holly is often seen in downtown Pawcatuck, Connecticut. On that same Facebook page, many residents shared their sorrow and memories of Holly, described as a "gentle soul."

"Always enjoyed speaking with him! May you rest in eternal peace."

Holly's family had asked for the public's help in finding the man who was a fixture in the downtown area.

NBC 10 news spoke to Holly's brother Patrick who said Danny was taken to the Westerly Hospital "after a night of drinking and was supposed to be transported home but he left before that happened."

Holly was in a motorcycle accident in the 1980s and suffered a brain injury, Patrick Holly told NBC 10: “He’s the type of person that always comes home and that’s what has us very concerned. He likes to be home, he likes to have his routine, he’s very, very, regimented.”

Indeed, Holly was often seen by residents in downtown Pawcatuck and downtown Westerly. Patrick Holly said his brother would walk "10 or 11 miles and it’s all within a mile of downtown."

This story will be updated.