Man sought in connection to cabbie’s death

CORINTH – Police were searching a wooded area Monday night for a southern Maine man wanted for questioning in connection with the weekend death of taxicab driver Donna Leen of Bangor.

Carl Wayne Heath, 20, of Fryeburg was considered possibly armed and dangerous, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Police released Heath’s photo to local media Monday and appealed to the public for help in finding him. Early Monday evening a possible sighting was reported off Route 43 in Corinth, about a half-mile from where Leen’s body was found Sunday afternoon. At 8 p.m., Monday, police with night vision equipment and dogs were combing the area on foot. Other police were patrolling local roads in cruisers.

Leen, 61, was dispatched to a construction site off Stillwater Avenue shortly after noon on Saturday where it is believed she picked up Heath.

Twenty-four hours later, all-terrain vehicle riders found the cab she was driving with a body inside. The vehicle was in a field, about a half-mile off the road and behind an abandoned farmhouse. Officials said the body matched the description of the missing cabdriver although formal identification has yet to be made.

An autopsy reportedly was begun Monday at the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta but results were not released.

Detective Lt. Darrell Ouellette said the Dick’s Taxi cab found in the field was the one Donna Leen was supposed to be driving.

“We are confident it is Donna Leen,” said Ouellette about the dead body.

Police remained on the scene through the night Sunday and on Monday made a cast of a tire print in the field.

An arrest warrant was issued for Heath Monday morning in connection with a break-in at the construction site trailer Saturday from where he reportedly called for a cab.

Around 5 p.m. Monday, a Corinth resident saw a man fitting Heath’s description come out of the woods. Upon seeing the resident looking at him, the man turned and re-entered the woods, according to Ouellette. Police were called to the scene. They were searching for a 6-foot-tall man wearing a dark jacket who was not appropriately dressed for the raw conditions.

Leen, 61, was a veteran cabdriver who often worked 10 to 12 hours a day and took few chances with her safety, according to those who knew her. But she also was a frail woman who reportedly weighed 115 pounds and wore hearing aids in both ears and trifocal glasses.

Leen, a widow with four grandchildren, lived with her sister in Bangor. Her daughter, Michelle Booker, a new mother herself, Saturday expressed concern for her mother’s whereabouts but has declined to speak about the matter since. Booker was called to the Route 43 site on Sunday. Detectives spent Monday morning talking with her and her aunt.

Cabdrivers at Dick’s Taxi where Leen worked are taking her death hard and some talked Monday about making changes in their daily routines, according to a dispatcher.

“Some are talking about quitting. Others are talking about getting concealed weapon permits,” said Rod Ronco. The company has about 30 drivers and 10 cabs.

“We all feel bad about it,” said Steve Caldwell, who owns the cab company. “There’s not much you can do,” to avoid situations like the one Leen apparently faced. “You never know when you pick somebody up how it will turn out, really,” Caldwell said.

Heath, who has a history of mental-health problems, has been convicted of several burglaries and thefts statewide. He was arrested last week on a year-old theft of services charge and held for a few days at the Maine State Prison until he was brought to Bangor Friday, Oct. 12, for an arraignment at Third District Court. Heath was sentenced to 48 hours in jail and credited with time served on the theft of services charge then released.

A warrant from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department has been issued for Heath charging him with a violation of probation. Ouellette said the warrant will serve as a legal method for holding Heath once he is found.