An Easthampton man has been found dead in Vermont near the Massachusetts border, with the cause of his death still under investigation by Vermont State Police.

Matthew Rice, 59, was discovered Sunday morning by a rest area off Interstate 91 heading northbound in the Vermont town of Guilford, which borders Franklin County in Massachusetts, police said. According to Google Maps satellite imagery, the only rest area in the town is the Guilford Welcome Center, about 6 miles from the state line. Local fire and rescue soon responded to the scene and pronounced Rice dead.

The Vermont State Police said in a statement put out Sunday that they were investigating Rice’s death, but that preliminary investigation did not indicate the death was suspicious, and that there is no cause for public concern.

An autopsy will be performed at the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington at a later date to determine the cause and manner of death.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.