MADBURY, N.H. — Authorities confirmed Monday that the person who was found stabbed to death in Lebanon, Maine, on Saturday was the teenager who was reported missing from his home in Madbury that day, but they shed no light on what they believe happened or whether they have identified a suspect.

Aaron Wilkinson, who stopped attending high school last year and worked until a few months ago at a warehouse at the Kittery Trading Post, was an avid skateboarder who frequented the John C. Littlefield Memorial Skate Park in Exeter, New Hampshire.

“He always seemed like a good kid who made some bad choices … got mixed up with the wrong people,” said Tyler Lemoyne, who knew Wilkinson from when they went to Dover High School together, though he said they were not close.

Wilkinson left Dover High and attended Oyster River High School in neighboring Durham, according to his Facebook page, though he left before this year, which would have been his senior year.

Prosecutors in New Hampshire would not say when or where Wilkinson was killed, or when he was last seen by his family before he was reported missing Saturday morning.

Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin, chief of the homicide unit, said, “There is a significant investigation that is ongoing, consisting of members of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, the New Hampshire State Police, and the Maine State Police.”

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The body was found Saturday afternoon on a remote, narrow stretch of road in Lebanon where few people walk, Maine State Police said. No identification was found on the body, and Maine’s medical examiner did not confirm Wilkinson’s identity until Monday.

Maine authorities would not comment on the condition of the body, referring questions to Strelzin. He would not characterize the body but said that making a positive identification can be delayed by the condition of a body.

Even before police released Wilkinson’s name, word spread quickly among his friends, many of whom posted remembrances on Facebook.

At the spot where his body was found, a shrine was erected with a skateboard deck, flowers, a New England Patriots figure and a U.S. flag. On the skateboard were messages: “You will be missed” and “Fly high little buddy.”

Residents in and around Madbury and in nearby Dover, where Wilkinson grew up, said such tragic ends are almost unheard of in Madbury, a rural town of 1,500 people next to Durham, home of the University of New Hampshire.

“I think it’s concerning, especially in this kind of environment,” said Casey Peters. “This is a small New England town. This doesn’t happen.”

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“We’re wondering what happened and why he got stabbed,” said Bob Thibeau, who was passing through Madbury on his way home to Nottingham. “It makes you wonder what kind of trouble he was involved in.”

Wilkinson’s body was found by someone walking on Long Swamp Road in Lebanon about 4 p.m. Saturday, police said. The Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta did an autopsy and said Wilkinson was stabbed to death.

Almost immediately, New Hampshire police said the body was connected to a missing-person case in their state but they were waiting for Maine’s medical examiner to confirm the identity before releasing his name.

Police spent much of Sunday at Wilkinson’s home. By Monday, police had left the house, which is at the end of a dirt driveway and shrouded by trees.

A sign posted at the end of the driveway read in part: “Please o Please respect our privacy during this most difficult time.”

A man at a nearby house identified himself as Wilkinson’s father and said he was suffering the news of his son’s passing. He was gracious, and authorities later described Wilkinson’s father as “incredibly nice” despite the circumstances.

Madison Scamman described Wilkinson as “wicked sweet” and said that in high school, when some people teased her, he was always nice. She said that even after he left Dover High School, she saw him skateboarding at parks in the area and they would skate together.

“He was just a really cool kid,” said Jade Baser, who was in his class and graduated from Dover High this year.

“He was a little bit like a rebel child,” said Jessica Snodgrass, recalling that Wilkinson’s mother sometimes called her house when she worried because he hadn’t come home. “I hope they find who did it.”


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