A Washburn, Maine officer has been charged lying about an investigation into a missing person. A slew of charges have been filed against Police Sgt. Chandler Cole including falsifying a report in which he claimed he had taken the missing man to a hospital. Charges of aggravated forgery, tampering with public records or information, falsifying physical evidence, and unsworn falsification, have all been placed on Cole and he was arrested March 29th. Since then, Cole has resigned from the police force.
Erik Foote has been missing since January 30, 2024. Cole stated that he saw Foote walking down the road (distressed) and that he picked up him and dropped him off at a local convenience store. However, Cole then told Foote’s parents that he brought their son to the hospital, not a store.
Police investigated Cole’s story and found that he had falsified the initial police report to reflect a hospital drop off. Foote has yet to be found, but Cole is said to be the last person to see him.
The small norther Maine town has a population of 1,500 people.