WESTBROOK

Two-year-old found dead in playpen; police investigating

Maine State Police are investigating the death of a 2-year-old girl in Westbrook, but say there is no immediate sign of foul play.

Police were called to the home of Madeline Negron at 10 Cross St. on Monday morning to investigate the child’s death. The State Police investigate all deaths of children under the age of 3.

The child was found dead Monday morning in the playpen where she slept, police said. The girl lived with her parents, Jessica Joy and Raoul Negron. She was last seen alive when she was placed in her playpen the night before, police said.

The state Medical Examiner’s Office will do an autopsy, which will help direct police in how to handle the case.

Police say drunk driver hit vehicles, including cruiser

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Westbrook police arrested a woman on multiple charges Monday, alleging that she hit several parked vehicles, including a Westbrook police cruiser, with her own car.

Police said Kelly Ann Brennan, 36, whose address was not available, hit vehicles on Main Street next to Riverbank Park around 3:30 p.m. One of the vehicles was a police cruiser operated by Sgt. Timothy Gardner.

Brennan was taken into custody by Officer Brian Grasser and taken to the Cumberland County Jail in Portland. She was charged with driving to endanger, refusing to submit to arrest, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, refusal to identify herself, leaving the scene of an accident, refusing to stop for a police officer, violating bail conditions and operating under the influence.
No injuries were reported.

ROCKLAND

South Bristol scuba diver dies while cleaning yacht hull

An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death of a scuba diver who failed to surface while cleaning the hull of a luxury yacht in Rockland.

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Marine Patrol Sgt. Marlowe Sonksen said James Stormes, 71, an independent diver from South Bristol, entered the water at about  9:30 a.m. Sunday to clean the hull of a 131-foot yacht from the Cayman Islands that was berthed in Rockland Harbor. The yacht crew called police about noon when they realized that Stormes had failed to resurface. A Maine State Police diver found his body about 3 p.m. in 20 feet of water.

Sonksen says the cause of death is unknown.

GLENBURN

Woman found safe following night adrift in disabled boat

Wardens say a woman is safe and sound after spending the night on her disabled boat on a lake in central Maine.

The Maine Warden Service says Lizabeth Gleason, 54, went boating at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on a small, two-seat CraigCat boat on Pushaw Lake in Glenburn.

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When she didn’t return, friends and family searched the lake and then called the Warden Service.
Wardens searched the lake by boat Sunday night and resumed the search Monday morning with two boats and an airplane.

Officials say Gleason was seen from the air on a remote shore about 9 a.m. Monday. She told wardens she spent the night on the boat drifting and tied to a hazard buoy. She drifted to shore Monday morning and waited at a camp until she was found.

Gleason is from Hermon, according to WABI TV’s website.

TOWNSHIP 2, RANGE 8

Driver distraction blamed  in fatal rollover near Lincoln

Police say a teenager who was driving five relatives home from a trip to Rhode Island died in a rollover on Interstate 95 in rural eastern Maine.

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Authorities say they think Tyler Anderson, 19, of Van Buren, got distracted during a conversation with a front-seat passenger and lost control while driving north near Lincoln about 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

The SUV rolled several times. Another adult and four juvenile passengers suffered minor injuries.
Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene.

One juvenile passenger was fully ejected, but survived.

The passengers were taken to Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln.

Police think a lack of attention and inexperience were factors.

AUGUSTA

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Grant of $1 million announced for river restoration project

A project designed to bring back once-abundant fish populations to Maine’s Penobscot River is receiving support from a federal grant.

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King recently announced that the Maine Department of Marine Resources will receive a multi-year grant of more than $1 million for the Penobscot River Restoration Project.

The department will receive about $550,000 this fiscal year.

The rest will depend on future funding and the project’s progress.

The Penobscot River Restoration Project included the removal of the Great Works Dam last year and the Veazie Dam this year. The project aims to restore 11 species of sea-going fish, including endangered Atlantic salmon.

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SEBAGO

Vacant Hogfat Hill house destroyed in afternoon blaze

The state Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of a fire Monday afternoon that destroyed the home at 57 Hogfat Hill Road.

Sebago Fire Chief Ken Littlefield said the owner of the 1.5-story home does not live in the building, which was vacant at the time.

Littlefield said the fire broke out at a bad time of day for the town’s volunteer fire department – around 2:30 p.m., when most firefighters are at work. But with help from several neighboring towns, including Standish, Baldwin, Hiram and Bridgton, Sebago’s department was able to bring the fire under control.
No injuries were reported.

ROCKLAND

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Inmate pleads not guilty to murder, assault charges

A man who is charged with murdering a fellow state prison inmate and assaulting another has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

WABI-TV reported that Guy Hunnewell, 42, is accused of killing Alan Powell, 57, in June and assaulting James Brensinger in January. He pleaded not guilty to both charges Friday, while also pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.

Hunnewell is serving a 40-year sentence for killing his girlfriend.


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