Mother of missing Avon man found dead in a well believes police didn’t do enough to find him

By CHRISTINA HAGER

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    AVON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — “I just can’t believe it,” said Karyll McKechnie, standing over the old well where her 45-year-old son’s body was discovered Saturday.

She had reported Keith McKechnie missing more than two months ago.

“He left his driver’s license and his Medicare card and everything. And I checked his bank account every week to see if he was taking money out of it and he wasn’t,” she said.

It was a mystery until some family friends checked the well with a tiny camera, lowering it down, police estimate, about 20 feet.

“They had like a fishing line and they had a, must have been a water camera or something. They took pictures and they said something’s down there,” said his mother.

Sure enough, it was Keith McKechnie, which now has family members frustrated.

Relatives say they had repeatedly directed police to the well since September.

Avon Police Chief Jeffrey Bukunt said his officers did check the well, and that even a police K9 did not pick up the scent there. He said detectives had moved on to other leads, including tips that McKechnie had been spotted at some nearby homeless shelters.

All the while, his mother did not give up on her hunch that he was right under their feet.

“Keith was my baby, and he was so good. He drove me around. He cooked me dinner every night,” said his mother.

His family says he was generous and light-hearted. They say he suffered with mental illness but was in good care.

According to a spokesperson for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, the autopsy shows no signs of foul play, but McKechnie’s family still has questions.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said his mother. “I couldn’t believe that they didn’t do more.”

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