SKOWHEGAN — The body of a Main Street man missing since late last week was found Tuesday in a small stream in rugged woods about a quarter mile from his home.

The body of Vaughn Giggey III, 40, was found about noon near Redington-Fairview General Hospital by Maine State Trooper Shawn Porter and his search dog, Myka, according to Lt. Kevin Adam of the Maine Warden Service.

He said the death does not look suspicious, but did not comment on a possible cause.

Giggey was found in a wooded area in Currier Brook between Main Street and Fairview Avenue near the hospital’s helicopter pad.

The area between Giggey’s apartment and his mother’s home on Chamberlain Street where he was reportedly headed Friday night is rural residential, with marsh and bog land interspersed with woods and houses. The area where the body was found is in a sharp ravine carved by the brook and thick with bushes and thorns.

“It’s not a hospitable area,” Adam said.

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The body was identified based on Giggey’s description, his size, clothing and proximity to his home, but official identification will be made by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Adam said.

Skowhegan police Detective Ronnie Blodgett said he would attend Wednesday’s autopsy in Augusta. He would not comment on whether police found a weapon or any kind of a note with the body.

Family members gathered Tuesday afternoon outside the Chamberlain Street home of Giggey’s mother Rosanne Dubay.

A brother, Arthur Giggey, 35, said Vaughn did not have a flashlight in the dark or even his cellphone for light and may have lost his way in the thick underbrush.

“He fell, more than likely, unconscious and they found him in a body of water,” he said.

Family members said Giggey was not drinking alcohol, but had smoked marijuana Friday night, which they said made him paranoid. They said he may have tried to walk through the woods to avoid contact with people.

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Giggey reportedly left his apartment about 10 p.m. Friday to walk to his mother’s house. That’s the last time he was heard from.

“He was our best friend, our brother,” another brother, Kyle Wyman, who turned 20 on Tuesday, said. “He was always there for us when he wanted to lend a hand or if I needed any help with money, rides, anything. Anything he could do to help, he was always there.”

Family members did not go to the scene to identify the body, Blodgett said.

Tracking dogs from the Maine Warden Service and Maine State Police had spent Tuesday morning searching for Giggey. A Warden Service airplane and members of Maine Search and Rescue Dogs also were sent to the area.

“This is one of those cases where you have a guy who left the house and hasn’t been seen since,” Adam said before Giggey was found. “Sometimes they just don’t make sense until we get to the end.”

He said three search dogs, three game wardens and a state trooper began the search about 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“To me, I’m glad that we at least found him,” Adam said. “I’m not happy at the ending of it, but to have somebody that’s missing, for the family, is worse than not knowing what happened to their loved one.”

Doug Harlow — 612-2367
dharlow@mainetoday.com


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