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Man who jumped into river to evade police taken into custody after day-long, multi-agency effort

The man appeared to be evading police by lying on a rock in the middle of the river.

MILFORD, Maine — Update, 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 4

The Old Town Police Department says a man who evaded police by jumping into the Penobscot River on Tuesday was finally taken into custody around 3 p.m.

Police say they responded to a call of someone attempting to harm themselves just before 3 a.m. on Tuesday on Pembroke Pines. Once on scene, police say they learned he had physically assaulted the victim. When police arrived, the suspect fled on foot. 

A K9 was called to track him but was unsuccessful. Around 5:15 a.m. the man attempted to go back inside the home but again fled on foot. 

Witnesses later spotted him running down Prentiss Street in Old Town around 6:30 a.m. Police found him on Water Street near railroad tracks, but the man evaded police by jumping in the Penobscot River. 

Due to river conditions, police say they were unable to get to him in the water.

At approximately 3 p.m., two Game Wardens and two Old Town police officers were able to reach him in the water with a Maine Warden Service boat. The suspect agreed to get in the boat and seek medical treatment.

Police say charges are pending, and once he's formally charged they will release his name. 

The Maine Warden Service, State Police, Orono Police, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, the University Police Department, Maine Forest Service, Penobscot Nation Warden Service, Old Town Fire Rescue, Milford Fire, Bradley Fire assisted the Old Town Police Department with the incident.

Original story

There are currently police officers on both sides of the Penobscot River.

NEWS CENTER Maine's Alex Haskell is on the scene in Milford, and says witnesses report seeing a man jump in the river to evade police. That man is now laying on a rock in the middle of the river.

The University of Maine sent out an alert Tuesday morning, saying that the Old Town Police Department was trying to locate a man who's 'suicidal, possibly armed with a knife.'

Credit: NCM
Credit: NCM

Dispatch confirmed that the Old Town Police Department is on the scene of a water rescue but would not say any more.

NEWS CENTER Maine will continue to update this story as we confirm new information.

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