WILMINGTON- Police continued searching for a missing Wilmington resident Wednesday morning.

Robert Murphy, 53, a resident of the Clocktower building on Route 100, was reported missing at about 9:38 pm on Thursday, April 16.

Murphy’s employer, Charlie Waldron, owner of the Vermont House, the Cain Tavern building, and the Clocktower, told police that Murphy was last seen when he left work on Sunday, April 10, at about 1:30 am. Before he contacted police, Waldron had already talked to Murphy’s neighbors, all of whom said they hadn’t seen him. Although Murphy doesn’t have a set work schedule, Waldron said it wasn’t typical for Murphy to be out of touch for a long period.

Police began searching for Murphy Thursday evening, retracing the path along Route 100 that he might have walked to get home from the Vermont House early Sunday morning. Police came up empty-handed in their initial search, but when the investigation resumed the next day they found evidence that someone had fallen down a steep embankment between Route 100 and the Deerfield River. At the bottom of the embankment near the river, police found a hat that may have belonged to Murphy. A subsequent search of the riverbank didn’t turn up any additional clues to Murphy’s whereabouts.

On Sunday, police continued the search of the river with divers from Brattleboro Fire Department’s dive team. Police spent five hours searching the waters of the Deerfield from the area along Route 100 where police suspect Murphy may have entered the water, to the river’s convergence with Harriman Reservoir. No evidence was recovered in the search.

On Monday morning, the search continued along the riverbank, this time with scent dogs from New England K-9, but again police found no new evidence of Murphy’s location.

On Wednesday morning, state police and Wilmington Police Chief Joe Szarejko searched the area around the mouth of the Deerfield River and the northern section of Harriman Reservoir using a state police boat. They were still unable to locate Murphy.

Police say there’s no conclusive evidence indicating that Murphy was lost in the river’s icy waters, but friends and neighbors say it’s unlikely that he would leave the area without telling anyone. Szarejko said police will continue to conduct boat patrols for the rest of the week, and are discussing other search methods. If Murphy did fall into the river and meet his demise, it could take several days for his body to float to the surface because of the cold temperature of the water. “It’s our best guess that he fell and went into the water,” Szarejko said. “I hope we’ll find him sitting under an apple tree eating a sandwich. It’s always possible.”

In the meantime, police are continuing to follow other avenues of investigation. “We’re looking into all the possibilities,” Szarejko said. “We’re not putting all our eggs in one basket.”