The cause of death of a Washburn man whose body was found in April near the Aroostook River remains a mystery, according to state officials.
Erik Foote, 39, of Washburn went missing on Jan. 30. Exhaustive search efforts turned up nothing.
His body was found April 23 on the banks of the Aroostook River in Caribou and was sent to the chief medical examiner’s office in Augusta for an autopsy.
Foote’s cause of death is undetermined, said Lindsay Chasteen, administrator at the medical examiner’s office, on Tuesday. No other details can be released due to privacy concerns, she said.
The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office led the missing persons investigation. That case closed when Foote’s body was found, Sheriff Peter Johnson said. Since Foote’s body was discovered in Caribou, the death investigation is led by the Caribou Police Department, he said.
Caribou Police Chief Corey Saucier was not available for comment.
The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, which led the investigation, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Foote, a military veteran, suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and his family worried about his mental health. His case garnered more scrutiny when former Washburn Police Sgt. Chandler Cole, who apparently was the last person to see Foote, was arrested for allegedly falsifying records regarding Foote’s disappearance.
Foote’s parents launched a fundraiser for Disabled American Veterans in their son’s memory, which has so far raised more than $2,000.
This story was updated to add information from Aroostook County Sheriff Peter Johnson.
