Barclay Found Dead After Intensive Search Senior Found on Beach in Possible Drowning
A body that washed to shore on Cape Cod last Thursday was identified as MIT student Daniel J. Barclay '07, who had been missing since Sunday, April 8. Barclay was declared a missing person Friday, Apr. 13 and had been the focus of an area-wide search.
The body was found Thursday, Apr. 19, on Scussett Beach located on Cape Cod Bay by a woman who was walking there, according to Michael O'Keefe, district attorney for the Cape and Islands. "There are no signs of foul play," O'Keefe said. "Beyond that, it would be speculation." O'Keefe told the Boston Globe that there were no obvious signs of trauma on the body.
An autopsy has been performed, but cause and manner of death have not yet been determined, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. O'Keefe said the medical examiner is waiting on a toxicology report to determine cause of death. Susan L. Kayton '78, Barclay's mother, identified the body Friday and told the Globe that it appeared Barclay had drowned.
Barclay, who was a former Tech opinion staff columnist, was found near part of an inflatable raft he purchased at Wal-Mart and a bucket, according to a memorial Web page established by his family. Barclay's family wrote on the memorial page that Daniel "had no experience of the power of a large river," and that they suspect Barclay "wanted to spend Monday exploring a river, but his boat got caught in the current and he was swept out to sea."
Kayton previously told The Tech that her son, who was an Eagle Scout, enjoyed adventures and had recently bought a variety of camping gear. "We think he went out to Boston Harbor to find a quiet place to sit and think and get away from it all," Kayton told the Globe. "But we will never know … He did not leave a note."
Kayton also told the Globe that college students should look after each other and encourage others to seek counseling if they see someone struggling. "If [students] see a friend who is in some pain … make them talk about it," Kayton said to the Globe. "If they don't want counseling, drag them to counseling."
On the memorial Web page, the Kayton family has offered to help pay for grief counseling for Barclay's friends.
In the Cape Cod Times, Paula Kayton, Barclay's grandmother, said that the family did not suspect suicide because Barclay could have used the bucket to bail himself out.
"Our sympathies and condolences go to the family and all of his friends," Barbara A. Baker, the senior associate dean for students, said. "Everybody put their heart and soul into this … the campus police worked so hard."