Man’s death caused by cocaine OD

BAR HARBOR – Christopher Conley, the Hulls Cove man who vanished from his home on April 28 and whose body was found in the ocean four weeks later, died of “acute cocaine poisoning,” a spokeswoman for the Maine Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday.

Conley first was believed to have wandered into Acadia National Park at about 5 a.m. April 28. An intensive three-day search was conducted before authorities called off the effort.

Despite help from scores of searchers from across Maine, and about 15 search and rescue dogs, not a trace of Conley was found in the park.

A whale watching crew spotted Conley’s body on Jordan Island off the shore of Winter Harbor on May 25.

State medical examiners were able to identify the body as Conley on May 28 by using dental records. The autopsy report, identifying the cause of death, was not final until June 24, the spokeswoman said.

Conley, who was 30 when he died, was a house painter. Among his survivors is a young daughter.