SANFORD — Sanford police are searching for the person or persons who killed an elderly man over the weekend. Police were called to the home of 72-year-old Boyd Elmer Darnell Monday afternoon after family members found his body in the kitchen.

Darnell had apparently suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head. He lived alone and police have determined that there was no forced entry.

Family members said they had tried to contact Darnell by phone and, unable to reach him, went to his house where they found the body. The body was sent to Chapel Hill Hospital for autopsy.

Police say they have no suspects.

One neighbor said he heard a gunshot Saturday night, but did not call police because it is common to hear gunfire in that neighborhood. Henry Carroll says Darnell will be missed in the neighborhood where he lived for 30 years.

Carroll and another neighbor, William Douglas, both say Darnell was a cautious man and that they believe Darnell knew the person who killed him.