Maine police officer arrested after accusation of lying about missing person: Reports
Sgt. Chandler Cole with the Washburn, Maine police resigned after he was arrested on March 29, according to reports.
Emily DeLetterA Maine police officer has been charged with multiple crimes after he was accused of falsifying and forging evidence related to a missing-persons case, according to reports.
Washburn Police Sgt. Chandler Cole resigned after his arrest March 29. He was charged with aggravated forgery, tampering with public records or information, falsifying physical evidence and unsworn falsification, according to The Associated Press.
His arrest came after an investigation by the Aroostook County Sheriff's Office into the disappearance of 39-year-old Erik Foote. Foote, from Washburn, was reported missing Feb. 6 and was last seen walking along a road in Jan. 30. According to reporting from WAGM, the last person known to have interacted with Foote was Cole.
After the Washburn police chief retired in January, the town with a population of just over 1,600 is deciding whether to keep a police department.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Aroostook County Sheriff's Office but have not yet heard back.
Officer arrested:Off-duty SC police officer charged with murder in Chick-fil-A parking lot shooting
Search for missing man Erik Foote continues following sergeant's arrest
Washburn is in northeast Maine about 11 miles west of Presque Isle, near the Canadian border.
WAGM reported Cole initially said he had picked up Foote in Washburn and dropped him off at a gas station in Presque Isle, which was later confirmed by security camera footage.
WAGM reported the initial report has been changed, however, to say Cole dropped Foote off at a Presque Isle hospital, which Cole told Foote's father, Allan Foote, in February. When Presque Isle police could not confirm that information, WAGM said Allan Foote accused Cole of lying.
Another search party was organized over the weekend to look for Foote.