by Patricia A. Miller
A Beach Haven West man who went missing for almost a week before he was found dead in a wooded area died of hypothermia, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.
The death of Joseph L. Autry, 67, has been ruled accidental following an autopsy, said Al Della Fave.
Police initially responded Autry's Jane Drive home last Saturday, when his family told police he had been missing since Thursday, police have said.
Police canvassed the neighborhood and interviewed residents, with no results. Autry was entered into the NCIC and a Trax message was issued.
Detectives from the Stafford Township Police Department conducted additional interviews with family members and neighbors, and obtained information that Mr. Autry may have been last seen in a wooded area near his residence.
A search was conducted in the area with help from the New Jersey State Police Aviation Unit, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and the Ocean County Sheriff's Department's K9 team.
The K9 team found Autry's body in the wooded area, police have said.
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