UPDATE: Missing man with Provincetown ties found dead in Plymouth Saturday afternoon

A 69-year-old Plymouth man, with ties to Provincetown and who had been the subject of an intense four-day search, was found dead Saturday afternoon in Plymouth, authorities in that community announced.

Rodney Riviello, father of Provincetown Assistant Town Manager Dan Riviello, was last seen on Tuesday, June 18, near Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital at 275 Sandwich St. in Plymouth.

Plymouth Police Chief Dana Flynn and Fire Chief Neil Foley made the announcement in a brief press release.

"The members of the Plymouth Police Department and Plymouth Fire Department offer their sincere condolences to Mr. Riviello's family and loved ones," the release reads. The two chiefs thanked those who helped search for Riviello this week.

The chiefs said information about the case will be updated in the coming days. They also asked "that the family's wishes for privacy be respected."

On Friday afternoon, Dan Riviello said the family posted a $5,000 reward for information leading to his father's safe return.

It had been theorized that he could have tried to make his way to Provincetown, where his son lives, or to the home of his daughter in Boxborough, or possibly to former homes in Clyde, New York and Brooklyn, New York.

"He's a very simple man. He likes to sit in his chair and watch his TV shows," Dan Riviello said in an interview earlier this week.

In a Facebook post on Friday afternoon, Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse had posted a Missing Person poster alerting the community. The poster was also shared on the Plymouth Police Department's Facebook page on Friday.

Mysterious disappearance after hospital visit

In an interview Friday, Dan Riviello said the last time his dad was seen was around 11 a.m. on Tuesday as he was leaving the hospital. The family believes he went out for his usual morning walk around 7 a.m. that day.

"We don't know exactly what happened to get him to the hospital," Dan Riviello said, though there was a report his father had fallen on the sidewalk and an ambulance was called, picked him up and brought him to the hospital about six miles from his home in Manomet.

He was seen in the emergency room and then was discharged. He did not have a wallet or identification with him.

"They were working to get him a ride with a cab or a Lyft, but he walked off," Dan Riviello said.

Rodney Riviello did not have any diagnosed dementia, but his son said he has developed memory issues over the last couple of years, and "he doesn't have critical thinking or problem-solving skills."

"If somebody was just talking to him, they would think he was just a nice old man," Dan Riviello said, "but when you're around him for a period of time, you realize he'll tell you the same story, almost word for word" multiple times during a single day.

Extensive police response

Authorities launched an extensive effort to locate Rodney Riviello, his son said. Plymouth Police were joined by State Police and a team deployed by the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council — a consortium of more than 46 local police and sheriff departments in the south metropolitan Boston area.

Response has included use of drones with thermal cameras, police personnel on foot and on bikes, and police in cruisers, in addition to efforts by the Plymouth harbormaster. Volunteers have been on the search as well.

"Volunteers made flyers and were giving them to people going into the city (Boston) for the Celtics parade," Dan Riviello said Friday. "We have family in New York going to three-way stops and putting up posters and talking to people."

He said the failure of the massive search throughout Plymouth to locate his dad left the family mystified.

"The response was incredible. We are so flabbergasted and confused and cannot believe that there has been no sign of him since Tuesday, with all of the cameras that are around in the world today on people's houses, on businesses and in cars," Riviello said Friday, before his father was found. "The fact that he has seemingly disappeared without a trace ... I cannot wrap my head around that."

He said with the number of people who have been looking for his dad, he "can't imagine that he is anywhere in the Plymouth area" still.

"We know that many of you have put in countless hours searching for Mr. Riviello and for that we could not be more thankful," the Plymouth Police Department posted Friday.

Heather McCarron can be reached at hmccarron@capecodonline.com, or follow her on X @HMcCarron_CCT

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Body of Rodney Riviello, 69, found outdoors in Plymouth on Saturday