Harrison Thorp
Monday, June 23, 2014 6:42 am
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State Police from New Hampshire and Maine are investigating the possibility that the young man’s body found Saturday afternoon on Long Swamp Road may be that of an 18-year-old New Hampshire man.
Press releases late Sunday afternoon from Maine and New Hampshire officials confirmed that an autopsy had been performed by the Maine Medical Examiner’s Office and that the cause of death was stabbing and was a homicide.
Meanwhile, the Evans Road home of the Madbury teenager has been the scene of intense police activity since Saturday morning when it is reported parents found him missing and called police.
Since missing persons cases are not always treated so aggressively it is speculated police may have found some evidence of a crime early on at the residence.
On Sunday afternoon, a man crying across the street from the house said, “My son died today, and I ask that you respect my privacy,” it was reported in today’s Union Leader of Manchester.
The man refused to identify himself.
A press release from Maine State Police Spokesman Stephen McCausland indicates while officials from both states are cooperatively investigating the case, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office is the lead agency, indicating officials must think any foul play leading to the teen’s death would have occurred in New Hampshire.
Soon after a Lebanon woman discovered the body while walking her dog around 4 p.m. on Saturday, Maine State Police descended on the area of the frog pond about three tenths of a mile south of Lord Road.
Police stayed on scene for roughly 12 hours through the overnight into Sunday morning, leaving around 4 a.m.
The road was closed for a period of time Saturday night beginning around 9 p.m.
In an early press release Maine State Police indicated the dead man had no ID on him and appeared to be in his 20s.
The woman who discovered the body said he was lying on his stomach in a pool of blood when she found him.
A positive ID of the male victim is expected within the next day or two, said Jeffery A. Strelzin, the Senior Assistant Attorney General for New Hampshire.