Search continues in Maine as officer is charged with lying about taking missing person to hospital

WASHBURN, Maine (AP) — A Maine police officer accused of lying about a missing person case was charged with several crimes, including falsifying a report in which he claimed he had taken the missing man to a hospital, police said.

Washburn Police Sgt. Chandler Cole resigned from the police department after being charged with aggravated forgery, tampering with public records or information, falsifying physical evidence and unsworn falsification, according to court records.

Cole said he had no comment when reached by The Associated Press.

The charges first reported by WAGM-TV stem from the case of a missing person who seemed to be distressed when he was seen walking along a road on March 30.

Cole reported that he had picked up Erik Foote and dropped him off at a convenience store, but he told Foote’s parents that he took him to the hospital.

An investigation concluded Cole altered his report to reflect a hospital dropoff. But there is no hospital record to support the claim.

Foote has yet to be located in a case that has riveted the community of 1,500 people, which has organized another search party to look for him this weekend.

The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office is now handling the investigation.

The town is in the process of deciding whether to keep a police department. Washburn’s police chief retired on Jan. 31, Cole resigned in February and a young officer is working elsewhere, Town Manager Donna Turner said.

For now, the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office is providing coverage while Washburn is without police.