The body of a Waldoboro man, who had been missing for more than a month, was found this afternoon inside his sport utility vehicle in a thickly wooded area off Route 1 in Newcastle.

Lt. Rand Maker of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department said a road crew that was doing guardrail work near Osprey Point Road discovered Peter J. Collins’ 1999 GMC Denali truck about 50 feet from the highway.

Collins, 47, a fisherman from Waldoboro, was last seen leaving his mother’s home in Waldoboro during the early morning hours on Sept. 19.

Maker said it appears that Collins’ vehicle left Route 1 as it negotiated a curve and landed in a heavily wooded area. Police believe the truck became airborne when it left the highway.

“It was as though the truck had been dropped in the middle of the woods,” Maker said.

Thick brush and trees hid Collins’ truck from view.

The state Medical Examiner’s Office is scheduled to examine the body on Wednesday, but Maker said authorities are pretty certain it is Collins.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Collins was wearing a seatbelt.

Route 1 traffic had to be disrupted for several hours while rescue crews removed the truck and Collins’ body from the woods.