Manhunt Over: Maine Authorities Capture Police Shooting Suspect Alive

The Maine Department of Public Safety has announced that the manhunt for 29-year-old John Williams, who allegedly shot and killed Somerset County Cpl. Eugene Cole, is over. The suspect is in custody and was captured around noon Saturday during the fourth day of the manhunt somewhere in the area of 807 Norridgewock road in Fairfield, Maine. Woman Says She Found Slain Deputy’s Body in Her Backyard Police are scheduled to release more details during a press conference at about 4 p.m. today.The manhunt included helicopters, armored vehicles, and police cruisers. Local schools had been in lockdown as federal, state and local law enforcement poured into the region to look for Williams.  Trump Says Democrat Should Quit Over VA Nomination Brouhaha Maine Gov. Paul LePage said Friday that all hunting was to be suspended in portions of Norridgewock, Skowhegan and Fairfield. That included the start of youth wild turkey season Saturday.The shooting of Cole on Wednesday in Norridgewock triggered an intensive search for Williams in and around the heavily wooded rural community about 60 miles west of Bangor. He was considered armed and dangerous. Police urged the community to keep homes and cars locked. US Reaffirms its ‘Ironclad Commitment’ to Defend South Korea Cole was gunned down between 1 and 2 a.m. Wednesday on Route 2 in Norridgewock. Williams then allegedly stole Cole’s marked cruiser and robbed a Cumberland Farms store on Waterville Road. He was last seen fleeing in the stolen cruiser.The cruiser was found abandoned around 5 a.m. off of Martin Stream Road in Norridgewock. Investigators believe Williams then fled on foot, and has been at large ever since.Cole was 62 and a 13-year veteran of the department. Sheriff Dale Lancaster calls him an “outstanding employee, one of the finest deputies.”Kimberly Sirois told NBC10 Boston she found Cole’s body on Wednesday morning. She said Williams was like a son to her and lived with at her Norridgewock home from 2003 until last Christmas, when she kicked him out for doing drugs. He moved in when he was in high school after a falling out with his parents.”He was certainly struggling with addiction and it seemed to have gotten progressively worse since September,” Sirois said.Sirois, an education technician at Mill Stream Elementary School in Norridgewock, said the last few days have been a nightmare.She said she woke up to the sound of helicopters overhead around 7 a.m. Wednesday and when she went outside she found Cole’s body in her backyard and alerted police.”As I lowered my eyes, I saw him,” she said. “I asked him, ‘Officer, are you OK?’ and didn’t get a response.”I’m screaming, yelling, crying. I started screaming and waving my arms, and when I caught their attention, I said, ‘I found your officer. He’s in my yard.’ They all came running over.”She said police later searched her property and found body armor and a gun in her car. They don’t belong to her, and she said she’s not sure if they belonged to Williams.Sirois said she doesn’t know what brought Cole to her property, and police have not commented on a motive.”We have no idea what transpired,” she said.A viewing for Cole will be held May 6. A funeral is planned for May 7.Photo Credit: WCSH
Source: NBC San Diego