Somerville Police Officer Honored For ID'ing Unclaimed Body

SOMERVILLE, MA — Somerville Police Officer Michael Cleary was awarded the Beyond the Call of Duty Award for his efforts in identifying a man who died nearly four years ago. Cleary reviewed a database of cold cases and unclaimed bodies and found a man who died in December of 2015. At the time of his death, he was homeless in Somerville, police said.

Cleary searched for the man's family over the course of several days and found an emergency contact at a local hospital listing his father as living in Lynn. The father had died, but Cleary found his obituary, which led him to a sister living in Reading.

Cleary notified the sister about her brother's death years before.

"The sister, who was estranged from her brother for many years, had wondered and worried what had happened to him," the Somerville Police Department said in a statement. "Although the news of her brother’s death caused grief, she was happy to be able to know her brother’s whereabouts and bring closure."