Missing N.H. Woman, 73, Found Dead in Massachusetts Pond: Police

Missing N.H. Woman’s Car Turned Up in Mass. Town. Police Found Her Body in the Water the Next Day

Margaret Hammersley, 73, was reported missing by her family on Thursday, March 20

Published on March 22, 2025 05:15PM EDT

Margaret Hammersley Missing New Hampshire Woman, 73, Found Dead After Two Days of Searching — Margaret Hammersley. Photo:
Westford Police Department

A missing 73-year-old New Hampshire woman was found dead in a Massachusetts pond following a two-day search.

Margaret Hammersley was reported missing on Thursday, March 20, according to a press release from the Westford Police Department, which got involved in search efforts after her car was found unoccupied in their town later that evening.

The next afternoon, Hammersley’s body was discovered in Forge Pond.

“Unfortunately, it wasn't the ending we all wanted, but at least we were able to bring some closure to the family," Captain Michael Breault tells PEOPLE.

Westford Police Dept. — Search efforts for the missing woman continued for two days.
Westford Police Department/Instagram

Hammersley’s family reported her missing in her hometown of Nashua, which is just across the Massachusetts border, police said in their press release. Then her abandoned vehicle was found in a parking lot in Westford. Police say Hammersley had no known affiliation with the area.

Search efforts involved 15-20 police dogs, drones, boats and additional rescue teams who covered the surrounding area on foot, Breault says.

The captain is grateful for the personnel who stayed late, came in early and navigated the cold, rainy weather to find the missing woman. “They endured that all,” he says.

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At 1:05 p.m. local time on Friday, a search team member found Hammersley “deceased in the water of Forge Pond,” police said on social media.

“The Westford Police Department sends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Margaret Hammersley,” the police department added.

Forge Pond is a popular spot in the summertime, Breault tells PEOPLE. “People swim in watercraft fishing, jet skiing, tubing, [have] houses on the lake,” he says. “It's a standard size recreational lake that you can have a full size speedboat on.”

An investigation into her disappearance and death is ongoing.