The Portland Police Department suspended the search for a missing Scarborough man Wednesday evening, but said it is confident that dive teams are searching in the correct location – in the area around Chandlers Wharf.
Police spokesman Lt. James Sweatt said the search for 23-year-old Matthew Foster will resume Thursday morning.
Wednesday’s search was suspended around 7 p.m., Sweatt said. Chandlers Wharf is located off Commercial Street in Portland, between the DiMillo’s Marina and Widgery Wharf.
Sweatt said divers told him the search for Foster has been complicated by poor visibility. Tidal changes and murky waters churned up by passing boat traffic have turned the operation into more “of a search by using their hands.”
“We’re very confident there is more to do there (Chandlers Wharf),” Sweat said late Wednesday evening. Maine State Police cadaver dogs led searchers to the spot, but searchers are not certain that the dogs detected Foster’s body, Sweatt said. “The cadaver dogs have indicated there is a person in the water. They are very reliable.”
Divers will deploy side scan sonar to look for the missing man Thursday. Side scan sonar is a specialized technology used to detect objects on the sea floor.
“We were able to track who we believe was Mr. Foster to this location. We want to make sure his family has some closure,” Sweatt said. “It’s very sad, a very tough situation for them.”
Foster was last seen Friday in the Oasis nightclub on Wharf Street in Portland’s Old Port district. Sweatt said police were able to identify Foster using video surveillance footage. He was in the bar just before midnight, and was expected to meet friends later.
Foster left the bar and never showed up as planned. His family reported him missing Monday. Police have no idea why Foster walked off.
Sweatt said that around 2 p.m. Wednesday a police bloodhound tracked from near the Oasis bar to the Chandlers Wharf area. A dog trained to find human remains under the surface of the water also targeted the same area, he said.
“It’s a difficult time for the family right now,” Sweatt said. “Our hope is still that we could find Mr. Foster but there’s indication that there’s maybe something in the bay.”
Although video evidence collected from the Wharf Street area corroborates that Foster was in the area around midnight Friday, police had not previously been able to confirm that he had crossed Commercial Street, Sweatt said.
Police said Foster’s family and friends are very concerned. He did not have his cellphone or car with him Friday and he is diabetic and has to take medication daily.
He is a white male, about 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes.
He was last seen wearing a blue, long sleeve collared shirt, khaki pants and white sneakers.
Foster’s case parallels that of James Dyer, 23, of Saco, who was reported missing from the Old Port on New Year’s Eve when he got separated from his friends as they searched for their car near the waterfront. Dyer’s body was found in the water nearly two months later.
Sweatt said that policing the wharfs is difficult because the waterfront is still a working port, and many waterfront areas are privately owned.
“To put up fences along the waterfront, it’s certainly not up to the police,” Sweatt said. “But we can recommend to the community to act safely when they’re down at the Old Port. Stay with your friends. Let people know where you’re going.”
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