Sunday, May 13, 2007
BUXTON - The family of missing teenager Coreen Wiese is awaiting word on whether the body of a female found floating in the Saco River late Friday night is that of the 15-year-old girl.
State medical examiner Dr. Margaret Green-wald plans to perform an autopsy on the body this afternoon, according to her office.
"The hope is a positive identification will take place at this time," said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for Maine's Department of Public Safety.
A woman answering the phone at the Wiese home identified herself as a family member and said the girl's parents would have nothing to say before the autopsy.
The woman added that everyone in the community probably can understand how the family must feel about "not knowing."
The Maine Warden Service said that after the body was found, it canceled a search for Wiese that had been scheduled for May 20.
"There is only one missing person in that area," said Mark Latti, spokesman for the service. "We uncovered a body that preliminarily matches the description of the missing person, and right now, there's no need to do it."
Wiese, who is 5-foot-3 and has long brown hair and braces, has been missing since Nov. 8.
She was last seen near the Route 25 bridge over the river, where searchers found her cell phone and an apparent suicide note scratched into a steel beam, with the letters "RIP" and "CW."
A group of teenagers found the body around 11:55 p.m. Friday in a part of the Saco River that's about six miles downstream from the spot where Wiese was reportedly last seen, according to Buxton police.
The teens were socializing at a waterfront cottage on Warren Road in Buxton when they spotted the remains with a flashlight, a local teenager said.
"I was on the couch. (Another teenager) comes running inside, screaming," said Desirae Hill, 18, of Standish.
Hill said the body, which she saw from a distance, was unrecognizable.
"What was weird is that they were talking about her before they went down there," Hill said, referring to Wiese.
Officers worked with state police Detective Michael Zabarsky and Warden Sgt. Tim Spahr to retrieve the body, which was sent to the medical examiner's office Saturday morning.
Police have not determined what happened to Wiese. Theories are that she killed herself, ran away or was abducted. The mystery has stumped more than a dozen FBI agents, the Buxton police chief and psychics working the case.
Wesley Wiese offered up to $20,000 for information on his daughter, but the offer did not turn up new leads.
Some area residents, interviewed at local convenience stores, grocery markets and a rest stop near the Route 25 bridge, said they would be shocked to learn that the body was any other than that of the long-missing Bonny Eagle High School student.
"I just pray that they'll have peace now," said former Buxton resident Susie Bello, 50, of Westbrook, who was speaking about the Wiese family.
On dozens of occasions over the past six months, Latti said, divers and pilots looking for Wiese have combed the area where the body was discovered.
Latti said a body sometimes turns up long after a person is lost in the water.
"Unfortunately for families, it can take months," Latti said. "It's not unusual for something like this to take that much time."
Factors include river currents, rapids, water temperature and water level, Latti said.
It is also possible that underwater debris can keep a body from surfacing.
"April's high waters may have changed that," Latti said.
Greg Whitney, 31, of Buxton, a recreational fisherman who frequents the river, said the Saco has been known to swallow its share of logs and branches.
Whitney said he thought the April nor'easter knocked loose a lot of submerged debris.
"That river was ripping," he said. "It probably dislodged some things."
The body's discovery came just days after Wesley Wiese organized a candlelight vigil outside Bonny Eagle Middle School to mark the six-month anniversary of the girl's disappearance.
Staff Writer Josie Huang can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
Staff Writer Elbert Aull can be contacted at 791-6325 or at:
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Sarge
of Waterville, ME
May 14, 2007 11:19 AM
Robert52: You are wrestling with the timeless question that has haunted mankind: “Can God be all-powerful, all-knowing and truly loving if He allows evil and permits bad things to happen to ‘innocent’ people?” There is a mystery to this that only the gift of faith can fully resolve and yet it is not so different from our own experience as parents. Can we prevent our child from harming another sibling? We can do our best to raise them properly and even have age appropriate repercussions in place, but ultimately they are free moral agents, able to choose their own course of action. In order to maintain complete obedience and perfect ‘goodness’ we would need to have some sort of mind control abilities. Of course this would impact the relationship we have with our children and would render their love for us null and void – how can a mindless slave/robot truly love another being, especially the one that is controlling them? The problem of evil and suffering originated with the first children’s disobedience to their Father’s perfect instructions. Since then we all have paid the price for their rebellion, yet God was not surprised and has made provision for those seeking to be made right with Him once again. In the meantime, we live in a broken, fallen world. Still, God in His sovereignty uses all the evil and pain in this life for the good of those who love Him and seek His plans and purposes – but that takes true humility to accept.report abuseRobert52
of Portland, ME
May 14, 2007 8:26 AM
Erika, your comments are very thoughtful. But in my case, it makes it very hard for me to believe in God. I am not an atheist, but I often wonder how, if there is a God, he can let things happen like this, and if He lets them happen even if He can stop them, do I want Him to be my God?report abuseErika
of Saco, ME
When bad things happen to good people, it is painful, and when bad things are painful, they get people's attention, and that is why we go to work on them. That is where the expression comes from, "The pain will set you free." The pain will make us work on whatever killed this girl so that it won't ever happen again.
It makes me believe in God all the more, because it shows me that the Universe is not indifferent. It shows me that there is a plan, and that we are part of God's plan.
Something very bad has been happening to our young people. Not just in Maine, but all over the United States. Overcrowding in the schools, drugs, alcohol, pressure to conform. When this tragic death is unraveled, I would like to know if anyone was aware that anything was wrong and if not, why not.
When bad things go all the way to death, whether it's suicide or homicide, this is rock bottom.
report abuse
May 14, 2007 7:50 AM
The reason "bad" things happen to good people is because that is why they are bad things, that is what makes them bad things. (Otherwise they would be good things?)
When bad things happen to good people, it is painful, and when bad things are painful, they get people's attention, and that is why we go to work on them. That is where the expression comes from, "The pain will set you free." The pain will make us work on whatever killed this girl so that it won't ever happen again.
It makes me believe in God all the more, because it shows me that the Universe is not indifferent. It shows me that there is a plan, and that we are part of God's plan.
Something very bad has been happening to our young people. Not just in Maine, but all over the United States. Overcrowding in the schools, drugs, alcohol, pressure to conform. When this tragic death is unraveled, I would like to know if anyone was aware that anything was wrong and if not, why not.
When bad things go all the way to death, whether it's suicide or homicide, this is rock bottom.
report abuse
KJ
of Windham, ME
May 13, 2007 6:28 PM
Our family wishes to express the deepest of sympathy to your family. We have prayed for Coreen's save return. We're in hopes that the results will show that this is not Coreen but if it is, please know that she is with our God and your healing can now begin. You will always be in our Hearts and Prays.report abuseYou must be a registered user of MaineToday.com to post a comment. Register or log in.
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