Maine State Police and the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the death of a man from Anson who was reportedly found ill and incoherent early Monday in his home on West Mills Road.
Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said Thursday that sheriff’s deputies were called to the home of Dwain Libby, 52, at 6:51 a.m. Monday after a friend went to his house and reported to authorities that Libby appeared to be sick and incoherent.
Libby’s family members arrived at the home, he was taken to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan and later flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland where he died Monday night, according to Lancaster.
“There are questions relating to a possible altercation that occurred at Libby’s residence sometime during the 24-hour period before he was found (ill),” Lancaster said.
The State Police Major Crimes Unit and detectives from the Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Division are treating the case as a “death investigation.” Officials are awaiting results of an autopsy performed Wednesday by the State Medical Examiner’s Office, Lancaster said.
Lancaster said he had no further details about the case.
Heather Letecia Dube, a neighbor and friend of Libby’s, said Thursday that Libby was resourceful and lived off the land. He had solar panels, a cow in his small front yard by a brook, a compost toilet and wood stove, according to Dube.
“I was envious how he lived his life,” Dube said. “He even made a TV antenna out of an oven grate. Despite having no vehicle, he had all he needed without the expenses of utilities. He even made his own refrigerator he dug out under the ground, which had a fan to keep things cool. He kept adding RV batteries so he could acquire more electronic devices. He told me the louder he played his radio, it would use more power. He built his own house. It was small, but enough for him. It did have a loft upstairs. I believe he cut wood in exchange for the small plot to build his house on.”
Libby raised Labrador retrievers, cut his own fire wood and was popular with a lot of people in the community, according to Dube.
She said she was neighbors with Libby 12 years and used to visit him daily, but since having a baby, she had not been able to do that. Dube said she saw all the emergency vehicles at his house Monday, but does not know what happened to him.
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