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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MaineMaid
of Sarasota, FL
May 13, 2007 8:17 AM
Oh what a terrible way to pass Mother's Day...waiting for word if is or not a missing daughter. But the peace closure will bring will ease their hearts. Prayers are with you this morning that this is the last day of pain.report abuseMaineMaid
of Sarasota, FL
May 13, 2007 8:17 AM
Oh what a terrible way to pass Mother's Day...waiting for word if is or not a missing daughter. But the peace closure will bring will ease their hearts. Prayers are with you this morning that this is the last day of pain.report abuse06Chevy
of Cornish, ME
May 13, 2007 9:10 AM
My thoughts and prayers are with the Wiese family. I pray that this is not their daughter with hopes she's still out there but I'm afraid that results will be saddening but yet give closure. If that is you Coreen - RIP.report abusemainer
of Casco, ME
May 13, 2007 10:48 AM
Why a supposedly loving God "allows" so many of us to experience such immeasurable grief is one of the greatest mysteries of life. Ministers can only guess and implore us to have "faith" in God's plan. Philosophers can only shrug in resignation. Fathers and Mothers can only sob. It seems, sometimes, that occassional grief is the price we pay to exist. We all must pray for this family, and all the rest of us as well. God please help them endure this. Our turn may be just around the corner. report abuseYou must be a registered user of MaineToday.com to post a comment. Register or log in.
