Concord Police are investigating the death of a homeless man who was found dead at a campsite off Black Hill Road Wednesday afternoon. 

Police were first made aware of the death from a friend who found the individual who everybody knew as “Mountain Man,” dead at his site. The friend ran two miles to the Friendly Kitchen to call for help, according to Conor Spern, the outreach and data engagement specialist for the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness. 

The man had been living unhoused in the Concord area for several years and was well known to advocates, according to Spern. While he had not slept at the coalition’s emergency winter shelter this season, he had previously utilized the resource center and stayed overnight in years past. 

Most recently, he came in in hopes of applying for disability and supplemental security income payments, said Spern. 

“The last few times that I talked to him, he was feeling pretty hopeful and wanting to do things,” said Spern. 

When Mountain Man stayed at the coalition’s winter shelter he was the first person up in the morning, making sure the floors were swept and mopped, said Spern. He would also stay behind, picking up trash or raking leaves at their old Washington Street location.

“It was super helpful,” she said. 

In the last few months, he moved from a campsite where he lived for two years. He recently received a no-trespassing order from his new site off Black Hill Road. 

Although a large encampment previously occupied the Black Hill Road area, which used to be home to Concord’s drive-in movie theater, the land was cleared to make way for a new housing development. 

Concord Police said foul play appears unlikely.