Missing woman’s body found in pond in Lynn

Police believe the body they found at Flax Pond in Lynn was that of Alice Nunes, a 57-year-old grandmother who was last seen leaving a bar in December. Officials are awaiting autopsy results to officially identify the body, but the 2007 black Lexus they found belonged to Nunes, and they also found her work ID in the car. She was found in the back seat.

District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett extended his condolences to the Nunes family based on the findings.

The discovery might help to bring a sense of closure for the family, and, by extension, a close-knit Portuguese community on the North Shore, but it did little to explain the circumstances of how the car ended up in a pond that had been searched by investigators before, or to explain Nunes’s mysterious disappearance.

The last anyone heard from her was on Dec. 15, when she uncharacteristically left her Peabody home and apparently showed up at a Lynn bar and had two beers before driving off. Within minutes, she called her husband, John, crying out: “There’s water coming in the car. Come and get me, John. I’m in Lynn. Hurry!’’

Detectives traced the location parameters of the phone call and searched ponds, rivers, and streams within a 15-mile radius. It took the help of a sonar specialist the family hired to find the Lexus, which was located about 16 feet deep and 40 to 50 feet offshore near Carter Road. The specialist, Rich Horgan, searched Flax Pond after spending time at other waterways, and even after detectives told him it was unlikely the body was in the pond.

He found two masses deep in the water on Tuesday, and yesterday Salem police divers located two cars, including the Lexus. The other car was reported stolen out of Peabody a decade ago.

John Nunes, the husband, said he had encouraged Horgan to look in Flax, and he said he knew they would find her Tuesday. It was his 60th birthday.

“I don’t like birthdays, but she could do anything she wanted on my birthday,’’ he said. He did not want to comment further.

Detectives said yesterday that the discovery of the car was the end of an exhaustive search that covered Flax Pond, Sluice Pond in Lynn, the Saugus River, and boat ramps, harbors, and streams throughout the area. No evidence from that night could point them in any direction, and bodies of water were searched more than once.

“This has been a needle in a haystack search for her since Day One,’’ said Peabody police Detective Robert Church. “It’s not an exact science, and there was a huge amount of body of water to search.’’ He said divers went, “foot by foot,’’ and, “if you know Flax Pond, it’s a large body of water.’’

The spot off Carter Road where the car was found takes an elbow turn, and a wooden gate barrier that lines a portion of the pond stops before that spot. Blodgett said detectives scanned the area after Nunes was reported missing and found no tire marks or other evidence to indicate the car went into the pond.

About 20 people gathered at the scene yesterday to watch officials pull the car out. “It’s very sad, but at least the family has closure,’’ said Lisa Goudreau of Peabody.

Blodgett said the investigation is being treated as an unattended death, and last night, with no immediate signs of foul play, he could only speculate - noting Nunes’s frantic phone call - as to what happened that night. The car is being inspected, though he noted it has been in muck for nearly a year.

The area is not far from Four Winds Pub in Lynn, where a witness told police he saw a woman matching the description of Nunes have two drinks at the bar and leave about 8:30 p.m. The woman did not speak to anyone and seemed upset.

That day, John and Alice drove back to Peabody after an overnight trip to Mohegan Sun. She cooked dinner, the family ate together, and she then watched a Portuguese soap opera.

At about 8 p.m., with no explanation, she said goodbye to her granddaughter, got into her car, and drove away. Not long after, she made the frantic call to her husband.

Jenna Russell of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Travis Andersen contributed to this report.