Body identified as missing man in case that drew attention because officer was charged

WASHBURN, Maine (AP) — A body found alongside the Aroostook River this week was a man whose disappearance prompted multiple searches in northern Maine, according the state medical examiner.

The medical examiner’s office said the cause of Erik Foote’s death was “pending” further tests.

The March 29 arrest of a Washburn police officer, Chandler Cole, for allegedly falsifying police records related to the case drew additional attention to Foote’s disappearance in the town of 1,500. Cole changed a police report to indicate he dropped Foote off at a hospital after seeing him walking along a road, but the hospital denied it, investigators said. Cole has declined comment.

Foote, who was last seen on Jan. 30, was a U.S. Army veteran whose family said he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder who moved to Washburn with his parents about a year and a half ago from Arizona.

Cole, who resigned in February before his arrest, remains free on $2,500 bail.

The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office is now handling the investigation, and the Washburn Police Department is inactive due to the chief’s retirement and lack of staff.