DETROIT — Maine State Police say the man found dead inside his Detroit home Thursday is presumed to be 47-year-old Ricky Cole. 

An autopsy on his body was under way Friday at the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta. 

Cole had lived in the house for about a month, and he lived in the local area before that. His mother, who lives in New Hampshire, was located overnight and notified of his death.

Police on Friday continued to search the Main Street property where Cole was found dead early Thursday morning, and at least one diver could be seen this afternoon in a swamp-like area abutting the land.

Police say the death is suspicious, but have not released additional details.

More than a half-dozen police cars were at 24 Main St. on Friday, and the state police Major Crimes Unit was at the scene with its vehicles.

Advertisement

Somerset County sheriff’s deputies and Pittsfield police officers were called to the Detroit home just after 3 a.m. Thursday for a report of a man who was dead at the home.

Detective Lt. Carl Gottardi of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department said that when investigators from the department arrived they found the body of a middle-age man and called state police, which handles most homicides in Maine.

Later, a member of the State Police Evidence Response Team was seen leaving a mobile home on remote Dogtown Road in neighboring Palmyra carrying paper bags marked as evidence. A state police detective could been seen speaking with a man in a police cruiser at the end of the mobile home driveway.

Police said the activity in Palmyra was related to the Detroit death, but would not comment further.

State police detectives were still gathering evidence from the Detroit home and interviewing anyone who had contact with Cole in the past couple of days, Gottardi said.

Amy Calder can be contacted at 861-9247 or at: acalder@centralmaine.com


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.