A GoFundMe created to help the family of John Lawler, a man from Haverhill whose body was found in Saugus after he had been missing for seven months, has raised more than $7,800 as of Friday afternoon.

Lawler, 53, had been staying at the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center on Route 1 in Saugus prior to his disappearance on July 14, 2023. He was last seen walking toward the highway carrying a fishing rod. Lawler’s body was found by a person walking their dog in the woods off David Drive on Sunday morning.

In the fundraiser’s description, Lawler’s son Joshua Deveau said his family needs help paying for the funeral expenses.

“I wasn’t ready for this and half of me was hoping he just took off and that he needed a break from the world, but that’s not the case,” he wrote. “So I’m asking for help, anything to go towards his funeral would be greatly appreciated.”

Already, the fundraiser has generated 184 donations totaling just more than $7,800, with a goal of $10,000.

Deveau, of Danville, N.H., said he spent months looking for his father, casing the woods over and over again trying to find him.

“I probably walked right by him multiple times and I still can’t believe I didn’t find him,” he wrote. “But to be honest, I know my father, and he wouldn’t want me to find him that way, so he didn’t let me find him.”

An investigation into the cause of Lawler’s death remains ongoing.