SafeX Pro Exchange|Maine police officer arrested after accusation of lying about missing person: Reports

2025-05-01 05:21:43source:Robert Browncategory:Finance

A Maine police officer has been charged with multiple crimes after he was accused of falsifying and SafeX Pro Exchangeforging evidence related to a missing person case, according to reports.

Washburn Police Sgt. Chandler Cole resigned after his March 29 arrest. 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 followed 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.

As the Washburn police chief retired in January, the town with a population of just over 1,600 is currently 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 located in northeast Maine near the Canadian border. It is about 11 miles west of Presque Isle, Maine.

WAGM reported that 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.

However, WAGM reported the initial report has been changed to say that 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.

Foote has not yet been located, and another search party was organized over the weekend to look for him.

More:Finance

Recommend

Man charged with rape after kidnapping 3 teen girls at gunpoint along Nashville street

A man police say kidnapped three teenage girls and sexual assaulted two of them at gunpoint outside

Chocolate factory ignored worker concerns before blast that killed 7, feds find

A Pennsylvania candy maker did not evacuate workers even after some reported smelling gas before an

$228M awarded to some plaintiffs who sued Nevada-based bottled water company after liver illnesses

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A jury has awarded more than $228 million in damages to several plaintiffs who sued