Boston police officer found dead outside suburban home

Authorities are investigating the death of a Boston police officer who died at the hospital after being found outside a suburban home early Saturday morning.

The officer was found outside a Canton home occupied by people he knew, according to a statement Monday from the Norfolk district attorney's office.

Boston police identified him as Officer John O’Keefe, a 16-year veteran of the department.

The Canton Fire Department responded to the home just after 6 a.m. Canton got 21 inches of snow during a powerful nor’easter Saturday, but O’Keefe was found before the brunt of the storm struck.

“He appeared to have been in the cold for some period," the district attorney's statement said, adding that he was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday to determine the manner and cause of death.

“John will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues here at the Boston Police Department as we send our heartfelt condolences to his family, and loved ones during this difficult time," Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long said in a statement on the department's website.