Found body believed to be Stetson man

STETSON – Police recovered the badly decomposed remains of a man Wednesday and said they appear to be those of Donald Johnson, 60, who has been missing for two months.

The clothing matched what Johnson had last been seen wearing and the body was found in the woods not far from his home on Route 222, reported Detective Lt. Darrell Ouellette of the Maine State Police. The body was found close to Johnson’s 1978 Ford pickup truck that had been spotted by aircraft.

An autopsy scheduled for today in Augusta is expected to conclusively identify the body as well as provide clues as to how he died.

Wardens and state police detectives and troopers, about a dozen in all, were searching the property across from Elm Lane near the Levant town line Wednesday morning and discovered the body about 9 a.m., about a half-hour into their search, Ouellette said.

The clothes on the body matched the dark denim pants and specialty aquatic shoes Johnson had been wearing when he was last seen by his wife June 1. His wife of five months did not report him missing until June 25, telling police that it wasn’t unusual for Johnson to disappear for weeks on hunting and fishing trips.