State Police search of Saugus River turns up nothing

LYNN – Massachusetts State Police divers searched an area of the Saugus River again Friday morning for missing Peabody woman Alice Nunes’ car, but came up empty handed.
Authorities received a tip from local lobsterman and interim Saugus Harbormaster Tom Falasca, who became suspicious after his boat’s equipment picked up something peculiar below the water. Falasca, who has worked along the river for over 25 years, said he noticed a high spot near the Belden Bly Bridge, one he had never come across before. “He was unaware of the activity up to this point,” said Tim Horgan, owner of the nearby Stoneham Boat Center, where a state police dive team departed from. “He put two and two together and contacted someone.”Falasca took four troopers, two of whom were divers, out to the site where he suspected Nunes’ car to be. At about noon, after a full hour of searching, Lt. William Freeman said the results were negative.?There’s nothing new right now,” he said. “We’re continuing the investigation.”One diver did say they found an old car in the vicinity, however it is unrelated to Nunes’ disappearance because the car is believed to have been there for decades. According to the diver, Friday’s river conditions were ideal for conducting such a search. The water was warm and clear with a visibility of about 10-12 feet.Fifty-eight-year-old Nunes went missing on Dec. 15. She was last heard from by her daughter who reported to police having a phone conversation with Nunes just moments before she ran into trouble. According to reports, Nunes said, “I’m about to hit water,” before the call broke off. The transmission bounced off a cell tower in Wyoma Square, indicating the call was made within a 15-mile radius.Lynn police first took over the investigation, but after having little luck, they handed the case over to Peabody police. State authorities have continuously been involved every step of the way.On Feb. 11, Lynn police came back into the picture after Horgan presented his own possible conclusion to the mystery. The Belden Bly Bridge has been closed to traffic indefinitely while it undergoes repairs, and the first day of the bridge’s closure was the same day Nunes went missing. Horgan said more than 100 cars mistakenly drove onto his property that day because construction barrels placed in front of the bridge made it easy for drivers to think his parking lot led to a detour route.”The day they (Mass Highway) shut the bridge down, they put the barrels across the street and they were curved. It looked like they were being guided up our driveway like it was a detour,” he explained.Horgan says it would be very easy for someone to drive straight down the boat ramp in the dark and drift downstream. At 12 feet deep during low tide, “it would be easy to hide a car down there,” said Horgan, who called police after reading about the case in The Item.A police source said Nunes was last believed to be drinking at a bar in Lynn and appeared upset shortly before she made the phone call to her daughter. Her credit cards have not been used since she went missing, police said.”If she came up the driveway while it was after dark, had a few (drinks), was on a cell phone and thought she was taking a detour,” Horgan said, “the next thing you know she’s in the water.”Falasca and Freeman exchanged numbers before leaving the scene Friday and will be in contact in regards to any new leads surrounding the Nunes case.