Maine State Police say the death of a woman whose body was found along Route 193 in Cherryfield on Wednesday morning is being treated as a homicide.
The body of the unidentified woman was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta for an autopsy, likely on Thursday morning, said Stephen McCausland, a spokesman for the state police.
A team of state police detectives, troopers and evidence technicians spent the day at the scene. During their investigation, police seized a 2017 Chevrolet Impala that had been involved in a crash at the intersection of routes 9 and 193. Investigators believe the car is related to the woman’s death, but they are not saying how the vehicle and woman are connected.
“All I can say at this point is we believe the deceased and the vehicle are connected,” Lt. Troy Gardner, the commander of the state police Major Crimes Unit northern division, told reporters at a news conference in Beddington on Wednesday.
Gardner declined to comment when asked if the victim had any visible injuries.
The Impala had Maryland license plates and had suffered front end damage.
The crash took place Tuesday evening, Gardner said. The woman’s body was found by a passing motorist around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. The accident scene and the place where the body was discovered are about 1.5 miles apart.
Route 193 was closed about two to three miles from Route 1 as troopers and detectives investigated the death.
Cherryfield is a town of about 1,200 residents in Washington County.
Detectives are asking anyone who traveled that area Tuesday evening or early Wednesday morning, or who might have information that could aid the investigation, to call the state police in Bangor at (207) 973-3700.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
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