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Second man wanted for August abuse of young girls in Rumford indicted, then caught by chance
THE LEGAL SYSTEM is finally moving in on the second of two men
accused in an August 3 incident when they lured several 12-to-14
year old girls to an apartment in Rumford and allegedly drugged
and raped them.
Nkialuzitu Mayingi, 31, was arrested on August 24 for his involvement
in the incident and after a court appearance in September,
has been held in Oxford County jail on a $25,000 cash bail,
which he has not been able to pay. He remains in jail pending court
dates in January. The other man in the apartment that night was
Diego Ramirez, 29, who was living there at the time but is now
listed as a South Portland resident. Ramirez was initially arrested by
Rumford Police on August 9, 2026, and charged with preliminary
felony sexual offenses and child endangerment in connection with
the investigation. He was released on bail pending further
court proceedings and presentation of the case to the grand jury.
Police allege that Mayingi encountered the group of girls at the
Circle K gas station on the corner of Rt. 2 and Bridge Street in
Rumford that night. They were looking for a way to charge
their phones and so Mayingi offered to take them to Ramierez's
apartment to do so. Once there, the two men gave the girls
liquor in the form of sweetened carbonated alcohol drinks, some of which had already been opened. One of the girls refused to drink an unopened bottle and noticed that her friends seemed to get incapacitated quickly when they accepted bottles with the tops already loosened. Mayingi and Ramirez then sexually accosted the girls. After a few hours, they drove them back to the gas station. The girls initially hid the details of what happened, but over several weeks, Rumford police picked up hints of the incident and eventually coaxed the story from them. The girls were given medical treatment and counseling, and police arrested Mayingi, who is a Portland resident who is listed on line as an income tax preparer.
Ramirez remained at large. On October 16, although he was not in custody, the grand jury indicted him in absentia on twelve charges of Gross sexual assault, Sexual Abuse of Minors, Unlawful Sexual Contact, Endangering the welfare of a child, and Furnishing alcohol to a minor. This week, however, through an unusual circumstance, he was finally arrested.
The Oxford County Sheriff received a report of someone in a car in Buckfield who seemed to be unresponsive. A deputy was sent to help him, but the man turned out to be okay, but also turned out to be Ramirez. The deputy helped him in the sense that he helped him into a pair of handcuffs and into the back of the cruiser. He was arrested and transported to the Oxford County Jail, where the initial bail set was $25,000 cash.
On October 28, he appeared on Zoom in court before Judge Philip Mohlar. As Ramirez hadn't read the indictment yet, the judge read all 12 charges out loud, pausing after each to allow Ramirez to submit a plea. Speaking politely but occasionally craning his neck nervously, Ramirez pled not guilty to all the charges. Assistant district attorney Timothy Maughan argued that the $25,000 bail be kept in place as "these are exceptionally serious issues, they are exceptionally concerning." Maughan noted that Ramirez had a prior charge of endangering the welfare of a child but eventually got a deferred disposition in 2025. "It seems to be a pattern," he said.
Public defender Tucker Derstine urged leniency, as Ramirez is employed with several jobs and certification as a health aide, and "is doing everything he can to advance himself." He is currently in a custody battle over a 4 year old son, and if held in jail, "will lose his employment, his housing and his son." Judge Mohlar then carefully explained the state's bail code, noting that one of the rules allows steep bail in situations where the safety of the community might be a risk. He ruled that the $25,000 bail stay in place. Ramirez's next scheduled court date is January 29, although his attorney could ask for a bail review before that time. (PHOTO: Diego Ramirez, courtesy Oxford County Sheriff's department.)
Facebook censors Western Maine News story about record breaking sales price of Bryant Pond property purchased by celebrity's wife
A story on the Facebook site for Western Maine report about the $2.827 million purchase of property in Bryant Pond by the wife of well-known commentator Tucker Carlson was abruptly pulled down a few hours after it was posted, because it reportedly violated Facebook's community standards. Here is the story:
MAINE HOUSES IN BRYANT POND PURCHASED BY TUCKER CARLSON'S WIFE
The recent $2.827 million purchase of two vacation rental houses on Lake Christopher was by a Florida-based limited liability corporation, Sunrise House LLC. According to Florida state records, Susan Carlson, wife of well-known commentator Tucker Carlson, is one of the principals.
Sunrise House LLC was formed in 2021 and has a Boca Grande, Florida address which is the same as that given in the LLC records as the address of record for Susan Carlson. Susan Carlson is listed as one of the principals and authorized signers for the LLC. The other principal is Travis Hoyne of Lake Forest, Illinois, who is a CPA. The purchase includes two houses on Lake Street toward Lake Christopher, including one right on the shore, and were owned and managed by Timothy Salvesen of Yarmouth.
The houses have been used for group vacation rentals recently, with rates for the property with Lake Christopher frontage, with 9 bedrooms and 7 baths, at $1,250 per night, $450 cleaning fee, and 9% sales tax with a two night minimum. In August, the property was available on a weekly basis only at $9600. The Carlsons occupy the property across the street.
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The sale of the property took place on October 15, as Salvesen, the trustee of the Timothy R. Salvesen Revocable Trust, sold 24 and 30 Lake Road, to Sunrise House LLC, for $2,827,000. The two parcels totaled approximately 1.15 acres, with the property at 30 Lake Road having approximately 189 feet of frontage on Lake Christopher, according to the assessor's records. Woodstock's 2026 tax records list the two parcels at a combined assessed value of $620,056, including $243,842 for land and $376,214 for buildings. The trustee's deed was dated and recorded Oct. 15
FACTS DISCLOSED IN COURT ON STABBING INCIDENT SHED LIGHT ON PROBLEMS IN WALDO STREET BUILDING
The story of why the building at 209 Waldo Street in Rumford has been
the source of so much chaos and violence recently was made a little clearer
in Oxford County court October 26, as the 19-year-old charged in a
stabbing incident there October 25 appeared to face charges.
Jazye Swan, 19, of Lewiston has been charged with two counts
of aggravated assault and one count of criminal threatening with a
dangerous weapon.
The stabbing itself, however, was not his doing, according to information
provided in court. It was his 15 year old sister. The stabbing victim was a
middle aged man who was fighting with Swan and seemed to be
overcoming him. Swan's 15-year-old sister jumped into the fray to defend
her brother and repeatedly stabbed the man. When the man's girlfriend
tried to restrain the 15-year-old, that girlfriend was stabbed as well. Both
the 15-year-old and Swan were captured later and arrested, with Swan sent to the Oxford County jail and his sister to Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.
She has been charged with two counts of elevated aggravated assault, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, and refusing to submit to arrest. A resident of Lisbon, she is being detained pending further juvenile court proceedings. As she is underage, her name is not being released.
This incident took place in an apartment at 209 Waldo Street, as did earlier incidents which lead to the arrest of Blake Lachance, 21 after police on October 14 ordered area residents to shelter in place as they pursued him. Swan had been named in the October 14 incident's police report as an associate of Lachance.
He and Lachance and another man had set up the apartment as a center for drug dealing, according to the police report in the Lachance case, bringing up significant quantities of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine from the Lewiston area. Sources told police, according to their report, that the three "had a sh--load of guns" in the apartment, and their frequent reckless firing and threatening people with them form the basis of one of the charges against Lachance.
The apartment was being rented by a 23-year-old Rumford man. It is unclear whether he voluntarily allowed the three to use his apartment or whether he was coerced. The Lachance police report alleged that Lachance repeatedly stabbed the man over a period of time and warned him that he would kill him if he reported the stabbings. The man finally left the apartment to stay with a friend at a location Lachance didn't know. Lachance's repeated assaults on and threats to the man are the basis of the other two charges Lachance is now facing and for which he is being held on $25,000 bail. Lachance also has another $10,000 bail due to an assault he allegedly committed in Casco during the days he was on the run from the Rumford police and would need $35,000 total to be released.
Older people often came to the apartment to buy drugs from the three young men, the police allege, and after Lachance had been arrested and jailed, two of these people went to stay at the apartment. On October 25, Swan and his sister came to the apartment, police allege, to collect money that the older couple owed Swan for crack cocaine. In statements to the police, the older couple say they were awakened by Swan standing over their bed, shouting at them and demanding payment. The man finally got out of bed and began fighting with Swan. Reports from the two older people and the 15-year-old sister both indicate that the man was overcoming Swan, which then lead his sister to stab him repeatedly in defense of her brother. The police report noted “several holes in his shirt consistent with his being stabbed in the back.” The older woman then tried to restrain the 15-year-old but wound up getting stabbed herself. In her statement to police, the 15 year claimed she hadn't tried to stab the woman but that she had “leaned into” the knife as they were struggling.
The older man then kicked out a window and shouted for help and shouted for someone to call the police. At that point, Swan and his sister left through the front door. The police arrived shortly thereafter. The press release from the Rumford police department describes what ensued: “While officers attended to the victims, other officers obtained descriptions of the suspects and their direction of travel. During a search of the surrounding neighborhood, officers located two individuals matching those descriptions near the 300 block of Waldo Street, just north of the crime scene.
"When ordered to stop, both suspects refused and fled in separate directions, prompting foot pursuits by Rumford Police officers and Oxford County Sheriff's deputies.
"Several neighborhood residents, aware of the unfolding situation, assisted law enforcement by providing information about the suspects' movements and possible hiding locations.
"As a result of these coordinated efforts, officers apprehended the male suspect, identified as Jazya D. Swan, 19, a transient from Lewiston, Maine, on the porch of 325 Cumberland Street as he attempted to flee toward an apartment. Minutes later, additional information provided by members of the public helped officers locate the second suspect, a 15-year-old female from Lisbon, Maine, hiding inside a utility room on the porch of 313 Waldo Street."
Swan, in a statement to police, denied that he was trying to collect money owed for crack cocaine but claimed the older man had attacked him only because the man had been smoking marijuana which had made him paranoid and violent.
In court, October 26, assistant district attorney Michael Haggerty asked that Swan be held on $25,000 bail pending the next court date in January, considering not only this incident but arrests on charges including theft and assault earlier this year.
The public defender Tucker Derstine responding that “$25,000 is not an amount he could come up with it.” Noting that family members would be willing to pay a lower bail, he suggested $1,000. “He was not the one with the knife in this situation,” Derstine said, and added that the only witnesses were the people actually involved in the altercation. Judge Thomas McKeon noted, “there's quite a lot in dispute about what actually happened here,” and set bail at $2,500 pending his next court date January 28. (Photo: 209 Waldo Street, Rumford.)
CRASHED CAR TOWED TO ADLEY'S IN RUMFORD, STOLEN, THEN CRASHED AGAIN
by Corey Mawhinney
Police radio traffic about a reported crash near Brook Street at 9:23 pm developed into a search for a man wearing a red hooded sweatshirt in the Rumford–Mexico riverfront area. Officers requested additional personnel near a bridge connecting the towns. Radio traffic referred to the Veterans Memorial Bridge and another bridge near a local business, and officers initially had difficulty establishing the precise location. At approximately 9:26 p.m., an officer reported that he believed he had located individuals connected with the incident.
Police activity nevertheless continued. At 9:28 p.m., another officer reported taking a position on the opposite side of the river to establish a small perimeter. Responders confirmed that they were seeking a man in a red hoodie. At approximately 9:29 p.m., a Rumford officer asked whether the fire department could bring thermal imaging equipment to scan the riverbank from the ND Paper mill parking lot. At 9:31 p.m., fire personnel were contacted about the request, although subsequent radio traffic questioned whether their assistance was still needed.
At approximately 9:30 p.m., dispatch advised officers that the crashed vehicle appeared to be the same one involved in a deer collision earlier that evening on Route 2 in Gilead. Adley's had towed the vehicle to its yard after that accident. Police asked dispatch to contact the towing company. One officer speculated that keys might have been left in the vehicle, but how it had returned to the road was not established. Adley's subsequently confirmed that the vehicle had been brought to its yard following the Gilead collision and sent another tow truck to retrieve it.
Fire and rescue personnel were also dispatched to the end of Brook Street at approximately 9:34 p.m. Police searched on foot along the riverbank. An officer near Morris Auto reported speaking with complainants. At approximately 10 p.m., officers used a flashlight to examine a red object beneath a bridge; it proved to be a chair. At approximately 10:01 p.m., an officer reported that a person described as the crash victim was nearby and requested direction. The transmissions did not confirm whether that person was the man sought in the riverbank search.
At approximately 10:18 p.m., an officer requested that Rumford Hospital notify police if someone arrived with a head injury. No such injury was confirmed over the radio. At approximately 10:46 p.m., an officer reported that Adley's had recovered the vehicle a second time and cleared the scene.
CREWS FIGHT NORWAY BRUSH FIRE
by Corey Mawhinney
Shortly before 6 pm October 23, Norway Fire was dispatched for an outdoor fire near 85 Rye Knoll Drive, Norway that was threatening nearby woods. Initially described as relatively small, the fire had spread beyond its original area by the time responders arrived. At approximately 6:03 p.m., a firefighter estimated that about one-quarter of an acre was burning on a hillside and instructed all responding units to continue to the scene.
At 6:05 p.m., Norway fire command requested mutual aid from Greenwood Fire, including additional firefighters and a tanker. Greenwood firefighters were dispatched at approximately 6:06 p.m. At approximately 6:11 p.m., Norway fire command requested notification of the Maine Forest Service.
The homeowner reportedly did not know how the fire started, and the firefighter asked forestry personnel to contact him directly. Additional equipment, including a forestry trailer, responded. At approximately 6:27 p.m., a forestry unit was reported three to five minutes away and a tanker 10 to 15 minutes away. At 6:29 p.m., dispatch confirmed that it had contacted Augusta to notify the Maine Forest Service and had supplied the incident commander's contact information.
At approximately 6:33 p.m., Norway fire command reported the fire under control and crews conducting mop-up operations. Greenwood personnel continued responding with additional equipment but were advised that the fire had been knocked down.
Greenwood firefighters cleared their assignment at approximately 7:24 p.m. At 8:09 p.m., Norway fire command reported overhaul complete, said he had spoken with a forest ranger, and released all Norway units back to service. The cause of the fire was not established.
Maine firefighters join battle to quell New Hampshire blaze
by Corey Mawhinney
Firefighters from western Maine and New Hampshire responded to 2810 Green Hill Road in Chatham around 2 pm October 23 for a major structure fire involving a two-story residence. Initial dispatch reports described flames visible from the building and electrical lines sparking and arcing near the structure.
At approximately 2:05 p.m., an emergency responder reported heavy black smoke visible from the Upper Kimball Pond area. Saco Valley Fire coordinated the response, requesting additional engines, water tankers and firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus. Firefighters from Fryeburg were requested to send an engine, a tanker and personnel.
At approximately 2:21 p.m., a Saco Valley firefighter reported that the building was fully involved in flames and was collapsing. The firefighter described the operation as a defensive attack, with crews applying water from outside the structure rather than entering the burning building. Fire officials requested assistance from the New Hampshire Fire Marshal's Office. Additional tanker support was requested from Brownfield and Denmark. Both departments were subsequently dispatched to the fire at approximately 2:24 p.m.
At approximately 2:29 p.m., dispatch advised responding personnel that live electrical wires were present at the scene. Eversource had been notified. Saco Valley Fire also requested Gilead firefighters to assist with water supply operations at one of its stations. A Conway engine reported establishing a water-supply position along Green Hill Road. At approximately 2:51 p.m., Saco Valley Fire reported that the fire had been knocked down and crews were conducting extensive overhaul operations.Carroll County sheriff's personnel were also requested to assist with traffic control.
The dispatch of fire personnel from Maine to New Hampshire subsequently complicated finding emergency personnel for a two-car crash around 3:30 pm in Lovell, although responders from the Sweden fire squad were eventually found to fill in.
The cause of the blaze was not announced.
Rumford fugitive who triggered shelter-in-place
order now held on $35,000 bail
On October 14, the Rumford police closed down several streets in an attempt to arrest a man who had developed a local reputation for being violent and dangerous. Blake Lachance, 21, escaped the dragnet that day. But he was arrested within the week, in Westbrook October 20, he has been in court twice this week, once in Portland and once in South Paris, and now is being held on a combined bail of $35,000.
Police began investigating Lachance after an alleged spree of over-the-top criminal behavior in Rumford. Their arrest reports allege that the apartment that Lachance and three other roommates rented at 209 Waldo Street was a headquarters for numerous illegal activities, including drug sales and gunplay. Police allege that local addicts went there to obtain drugs including heroin, cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine. But his current arrest in Oxford County is based not on drugs but on his having assaulted one of those roommates, and also behaving recklessly with firearms. The police describe Lachance's repeatedly stabbing the roommate who was paying the rent on the apartment, and warning him that he would kill him if the man reported the assault. The stabbing took place not just once, but on multiple occasions, leading the roommate finally to move out to a friend's apartment, the location of which Lachance didn't know. For that, Lachance was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, a Class C felony with a possible five year jail term, and aggravated assault, a Class B felony with a possible jail term of 10 years.
He was also charged with aggravated reckless conduct due to the gunplay he and his roommates engaged in. Witnesses reported several incidents of gunfire in and around the apartment, and the Rumford police experienced shots being fired outside their office in the Rumford town hall on October 10 during which officers inside believed they heard bullets hitting the outside of the building. Police state they believe Lachance owned and used a Draco style assault pistol, a short barreled firearm with an extended magazine, and found shell casings consistent with that gun after Lachance and several acquaintences had been seen discharging their weapons. Neighbors of the Waldo Street apartment called several times to complain about the gunfire. Witnesses claimed the men had a “s—tload” of guns, including AR-15 assault rifles, in their apartment.
From this, Lachance faces a third charge, aggravated reckless conduct, which carries a potential sentence of 10 years. All his charges also carry a potential $20,000 fine.
The behavior of the men, all in their early 20's or younger, was not particularly well concealed, according to the police report. Witnesses say they would openly discuss their activities in front the numerous people who came and went in the apartment to buy drugs. With information readily available about the situation, Rumford police were able to obtain warrrants for Lachance's arrest, and moved in on October 14 to try to arrest him.
Due to the pattern of gunplay by Lachance and his roommates, including reports of shots fired that morning, the police moved cautiously and before approaching the apartment issued a shelter-in-place advisory in the area of Maine Avenue and Waldo Street in Rumford.
Lachance was able to get away. Pictures of Lachance show him with bushy light colored hair but apparently he cut his hair and dyed it black to avoid being recognized. His arrest record for the Rumford incident listed his hair as red. A later arrest record has it as black.
That arrest was another incident only a few days later. On October 18, Lachance went to a home in Casco and entered it without permission. Available court records don't say whether he broke in or whether he knew the occupant, but before he left, he assaulted the occupant with, the court records say, “with a multitool.” As a result, after his arrest, his first court date was in the Cumberland County Court in Portland, facing charges of aggravated assault and aggravated criminal trespass. He was given a $10,000 bail, which he was unable to pay, and transferred to Oxford County to face the charges from Rumford.
His arrest came as the Rumford police enlisted the help of federal agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service which has a special program to help local police departments apprehend violent offenders. A release from the Rumford police states:
"The Rumford Police Department requested assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service-led Maine Violent Offender Task Force in locating and apprehending Lachance. Task force investigators worked collaboratively with the U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Task Force, Rumford Police Department, Lewiston Police Department, and Westbrook Police Department. Their investigation developed information indicating that Lachance had fled to a residential neighborhood in Westbrook.
"Working in coordination with our law enforcement partners, USMS fugitive investigators requested assistance from the Cumberland County Emergency Services Unit, led by the
Cumberland County Sherriff’s Office and the Southern Maine Regional SWAT team, led by the South Portland Police Department.
"On October 20, in Westbrook, members of the emergency services units apprehended Lachance after he attempted to flee the residence on foot. A perimeter team subsequently took him into custody without further incident. Lachance was then turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service."
In Oxford County court October 23, Lachance, hair now black, appeared on Zoom from the Oxford County jail, listening wordlessly but with an attitude of annoyance as his case was discussed. At the request of the district attorney's office, Judge Julia Pitney set his bail at $25,000, making it that, to get out of jail, he would need to raise the total o $35,000 to pay the bail for both cases. “I do perceive a significant public safety risk,” Pitney said. She also acceded to the district attorney's request that the arrest record be sealed – not available to the public – in order to conceal the identities and protect the witnesses described in the police reports.
Lachance has an arrest record going back to charges against him as a juvenile, the earliest of which occurred when he was living in Aroostook County.
Ribbon cutting marks
a step in a decade-long effort
to restart Bethel Station
area redevelopment
About a dozen people showed up October 19 for a
ribbon cutting at the new condominium project
on Cross Street and Rt. 26 in Bethel. Called,
The Residences at Bethel Station, the 38-unit
project is being developed by Portland realtor
Tony Donovan, and includes the railroad station
reference in its name as part of Donovan's decade long effort to bring passenger rail service to Bethel and other parts of Maine.
Donovan, holding a pair of giant scissors to cut a yellow ribbon, hosted the ribbon cutting along with the Bethel Chamber of Commerce and guests including Maine gubernatorial candidate Rick Bennett. The new project is his next step in trying to develop the half finished redevelopment district between the railroad tracks, Rt. 26 and The Parkway. In the past, he was instrumental in marketing which eventually lead to the reopening of the movie theater on Cross Street now known as the Gem Theater, and started a statewide effort to expand passenger rail service in Maine. The service, from Portland to Montreal, would have stopped in Bethel.
The Residences at Bethel Station are now scheduled for completion next year. Afterwards, he says, he has plans for a 7,000 square foot commercial building in the adjoining lot, and possibility of more housing on other vacant parcels nearby. The area was the target of a 1990 Community Block Grant which eventually sparked several million dollars in state and federal spending to redevelop an industrial neighborhood into a planned neighborhood of shops, services and residences. A few buildings were constructed, including the Norway Savings Bank building, the current Gem Theater building and the Chamber of Commerce building, but funding dried up, the effort faltered, and much of the area, where industrial buildings were taken down, have been open fields ever since.
After discovering the area about ten years ago, Donovan began an effort to restart the redevelopment. After initial success in rallying town and city governments to support and pay for studies of reviving the rail line, the effort ran out of political steam and at least one section of needed railroad was torn up to make a bike and pedestrian trail.
Donovan hasn't given up, as he made clear October 19, and a new population of condo owners may just provide more possible demand for train service. The new condos are being marketed as luxury units, and have pre-construction prices set from $540,000 for a one bedroom, 1.5 bath, to $895,000 for a three bedroom with 2 baths and a wrap around balcony on the third floor.
The project has hit some roadblocks and construction has been delayed in the past year. Partly, according to Donovan, the winter weather was too cold, “and if it got below 10 degrees, we sent everybody home.” Also, the initial crew hired included several foreign nationals, all with full documentation, but with ICE working to fill quotas, even documented workers were rounded up, even if eventually released. “There were no undocumented workers on that site,” said Donovan. After being rounded up once, Donovan said, they refused to return to the site, “because they were afraid.” With a new crew now, construction is moving ahead and completion, and occupancy, is now planned for late winter of 2027. Four units are already under contract, Donovan says.
In the meantime, the town of Bethel is already benefiting from increased property tax revenues, according to Donovan. The site previously generated about $2,000 in tax revenue for the town. His current year's bill, he says, is $16,000. The return to the town will grow substantially after the project is completed, Donovan says, because it is anticipated it will add about $20 million to the town's property valuation.
23 year old driver flees after hitting motorcyclist, is caught, jailed, then pays high bail to get free
Henry Clark, a 23-year-old Kittery man who seriously injured a motorcyclist in Newry October 10, and then fled the scene, has paid the $5,000 cash bail he was assessed in Oxford County court October 13 and has been released pending a return to court in January.
Clark hit and seriously injured a motorcyclist, David Dyer, 67, of Standish, and fled the scene of collision. The incident began as, on October 10 at approximately 3:46 p.m., the Oxford County Regional Communications Center received a 911 call about a two-vehicle traffic crash at the intersection of Mayville Road and Bear River Road in Newry; the crash involved a vehicle and a motorcycle. The vehicle involved fled the scene driving west towards Bethel.
Sheriff's deputies arrived to find David Dyer, 67, of Standish, lying injured on the side of the road and telling responders that he wasn't able to move. Dyer was driving his blue 2025 Can Am motorcycle and traveling south on Bear River Road when he made a right hand turn onto Mayville Road to head west. Clark was traveling west on Mayville Road and passed a stopped pickup truck on the right and struck Dyer as he was entering Mayville Road. Dyer was ejected off from his motorcycle and suffered significant injuries. Oxford County Sheriff's deputies, Newry Fire and Bethel Rescue responded to the scene and Dyer was transported to Rumford Hospital.
He was subsequently transferred to Maine Medical Center where, as of October 13, according to information given in court, he is recovering from multiple broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade, a fractured sternum, and bleeding in the lungs requiring a drainage tube.
Witnesses to the accident gave a rough description of Clark's vehicle as a Mazda, and deputies were able to locate a Mazda with, according to the police report, "significant damage on the passenger side of the vehicle," at the Irving Station on Rt. 2 in Bethel. They found Clark in the vehicle, who asked them if they wanted to speak to him about "the motorcycle incident."
Police report that he appeared intoxicated, and they administered several field sobriety tests. When they administered a breathalyzer test. his blood alchohol levels read 0.18, over twice the legal limit, according to the police report. He was arrested and charged with aggravated leaving the scene of an accident (Class C, aggravated reckless conduct (Class B), aggravated driving to endanger (Class C), OUI causing serious bodily injury (Class C) and aggravated assault with a dangerous, weapon (Class B). They transported him to the Oxford County jail, but not before puzzling what to do with the dog he had in the car with him. As an animal control officer was unavailable, a deputy finally took the dog from the scene in a police cruiser.
In court October 13, assistant district attorney Josha Klein-Golden argued for $5,000 bail, and reported that Clark has numerous driving offenses on his record from Georgia, Virginia and New Hampshire. Defense attorney of the day, Kelly Ann McMorran argued for $500 bail as he has two houses owned by his parents, one in New Hampshire and one in Kittery, to which to return. She said he sought to be released so as to start a new job he has just acquired. Judge Jeana McCormick opted for the higher bail, with conditions that, if he should post bail, he will be forbidden to use alcohol or drugs or operate a motor vehicle.
The Oxford County Sheriff's office is still investigating the case and has invited the public to submit any pertinent information to them.
Mobile home a total loss after fire - two pets die
Scanner transmissions indicate that firefighters were dispatched to 22 Abbey Road in Paris at 3:29 pm October 14 for a reported mobile home fully engulfed in flames. Dispatchers reported that the fire was beginning to spread into nearby woods, prompting requests for additional tankers from Hebron and Buckfield. Norway firefighters also responded.
Initial information indicated nobody was inside the residence. However, a caller reported that two animals had been inside and were believed to have died. That information had not been independently confirmed. At approximately 3:37 p.m., the first arriving officer described the mobile home as a total loss. At 4:12 p.m., firefighters confirmed that two pets had been recovered deceased and that two adults were displaced.
The American Red Cross was contacted to help the residents, and an animal control officer was requested. The fire was reported extinguished at 4:55 p.m., but firefighters were contacted again at 5:28 p.m. about a leaking propane tank at the property.
The State Fire Marshal's Office was notified, and Central Maine Power was contacted. The cause of the fire has not been established.
Kayaker drowns after tipping over in Roxbury Pond
A kayaker tipped over and drowned in Roxbury Pond October 10, prompting a lengthy search that finally lead to the recovery of his body by the Maine Warden Service October 11. He has been identified in television news reports as Shawn Noyes, 20, of Dixfield. According to Facebook posts, he was kayaking with his mother shortly before 4 pm October 10 in reportedly windy conditions. His kayak tipped and, according to dispatch reports, he attempted to swim to an island, but his mother, in a second kayak, lost sight of him. Roxbury Firefighters responded to Sunset Cove Road and the town boat launch, and as they arrived, dispatch reported he had not been seen for about 10 minutes. His mother, in her kayak, continued to search for him as Rumford and Mexico Fire Departments joined the effort with rescue boats. The town boat launch was closed and all boaters were asked to stay off the Pond. Emergency crews established a command post at the boat launch and the Maine Warden Service was contacted. The mother returned to shore and, with the man's father, joined the emergency crews at the boat launch. Responders shortly thereafter found the his overturned kayak, but were not able to find him. After several hours, a dive team was called as the prospect of recovering the man rather than rescuing him grew more likely. Shortly after sunset, the effort was suspended for the night. The following morning, the search began again and after several hours, the body was located. The boat launch was reopened to the public at approximately 1 pm, October 11.