A Maine man is still unaccounted for weeks after a police officer was arrested for lying about taking him to the hospital before his disappearance.
Aroostook County police said Erik Foote, 39 was reported missing on February 6, though he was last seen on January 30. Washburn police Sergeant Chandler Cole — the last person to see Foote — was charged on March 29 for accessing his job’s dispatch system to change information regarding his interaction with Foote, according to WAGM.
Private investigator Darral Crandall was assigned to the case by former Washburn Police Chief Cyr Martin before he left his role in February. Crandall’s statement indicated that Cole originally reported picking up Foote in Washburn after the Maine State Public Safety Communications Center got multiple calls about Foote appearing hysterical, distressed, and possibly suffering from mental health issues.
According to WAGM, Crandall obtained surveillance footage that corroborated Cole’s claims that he picked up Foote in Washburn and dropped him off at a gas station in Presque Isle.
However, Cole allegedly accessed the dispatching system to change his report to state that he dropped off Foote at Presque Isle Hospital. WAGM reported that alarms were raised in early February when Foote’s father contacted authorities about his son’s whereabouts and Cole claimed he had taken Foote to the hospital.
“Allan later confronted Sgt. Cole [via phone] regarding his lie. Sgt. Cole proceeded to access Spillman to make alterations to his information card to corroborate the lie. This fabrication of information directly impacted law enforcement’s investigation into Erik’s missing person case conducted by the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office,” Crandall wrote.
Chief Martin reportedly told Crandall that he was unfamiliar with the reporting system, so he did not review the reports Cole allegedly modified. He also claimed that Cole refused to meet with investigators regarding his reports before resigning in February, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Foote’s mother told the news outlet that she had lunch with her son on January 29. He reportedly suffered from mental health issues since serving in Korea and Iraq. His mother claimed he had other health issues but she declined to specify.
Cole was charged with aggravated forgery, tampering with public records or information, falsifying physical evidence, and unsworn falsification. He is currently free on $2,500 bail.
Despite Cole’s arrest, Aroostook County Sheriff Peter Johnson said it has not led to any new information regarding Foote’s location.
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[Featured image: Erik Foote/Facebook; Chandler Cole/WAGM]