The man police were looking for after he failed to return from a nature walk late Thursday afternoon has been found dead, according to the Vermont State Police.

Ralph Meader, 65, of Bristol was dropped off on the Bristol Road, in vicinity of Church Street, in Monkton for a nature walk. He expected back by 5:15 p.m. and when he failed to return, the police were notified, according to a news release.

Dozens of searchers from the Monkton Fire Department, Vermont Fish & Wildlife, Vermont State Police Search and Rescue and Upper Valley Rescue with the assistance of four search dogs started looking for Meader by 6:40 p.m.

After looking for Meader throughout the night, Meader's body was found by a New England K9 Search and Rescue unit in a swamp 50 feet from shore off the east side of Bristol Road at 4:38 a.m.

While the death does not appear to be suspicious, members of the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations responded to the scene to investigate the death, police said.

Meader's body has been taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsy, according to police, and the investigation is continuing.