Confirmation last week of the death of a missing Cranston, RI, man has refueled speculation that a body discovered off Westport last August might be that of 36-year-old Kerry Mello.

Rhode Island State Police last week confirmed that Mr. Mello is indeed dead but released no other details. Mr. Mello, the father of three, was last seen by his girlfriend on August 10, 2015. His abandoned car was found by Boston police in late October.

On August 19, the Westport fishing boat TNT, owned by Brian Tripp, found a partially dismembered body about a mile and a quarter south of the harbor entrance and beach.

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office declined comment at the time when asked if the body might be that of Mr. Mello. Asked about DNA identification efforts repeatedly since then, a spokesman has said there is nothing new to report from the Cape Cod Medical Examiner’s Office.

But last week, that spokesman referred all questions to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office and to RI State Police.

A spokesman for the Rhode Island AG’s office said she could neither confirm nor deny such a connection, adding that that is their standard response for cases that remain under investigation. She referred questions to State Police who did not respond.

Westport detective Antonio Cestodio said he could only confirm that the matter of the body found here is now a Rhode Island State Police case.

Detective Cestodio said that DNA from that body would have been filed with the National Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in hopes of locating a match.

After they found the body, wrapped in some sort of bag, the fishermen called police. Town and State Police, with then-Harbormaster Richie Earle, went out and recovered the body.

In the days after the discovery, searchers walked the shores of Westport and across the state line into Little Compton in what is said to be a hunt for possible clues. There have been no reports of additional discoveries.