Missing girl, 13, returns Indian Island father turns himself in

INDIAN ISLAND – A 13-year-old girl who was believed to be abducted from her foster home in Brewer on May 1 is safe and back in Maine, according to Indian Island police Chief Seth Mitchell.

Her father, Bert Francis, 45, of Indian Island turned himself in Sunday with the girl and was arrested on two counts of gross sexual assault stemming from a grand jury indictment on May 3.

“He’s in custody as of 8:30 a.m. this morning,” Mitchell said Sunday. “He walked into the Sanford Police Department and surrendered.”

On Sunday, Bert Francis was being held in York County Jail and today will be transported to Penobscot County Jail in Bangor to await his first appearance in Penobscot County District Court, tentatively set for Tuesday.

Amanda Francis, who had been living in a Brewer foster home for about two weeks after being placed there by the Penobscot Indian Nation Department of Human Services, is doing fine, the police chief said.

“She’s doing good. She’s not hurt,” Mitchell said Sunday afternoon. “DHS is making arrangements to pick her up [in Sanford]. She’ll probably be put into another foster home.”

The gross sexual assault charges stem from incidents involving a minor female that allegedly occurred in February, Penobscot County Deputy District Attorney Michael Roberts said last week. The minor child has not been publicly identified.

Mitchell said that when Amanda’s father picked her up May 1 at the foster home in Brewer, Bert Francis was under a court order not to have any contact with her.

After the apparent abduction, state police and Indian Island police believed Bert Francis and the girl had left the state, and they asked the public for help in locating them. State police spokesman Stephen McCausland said Bert Francis knew police were searching for him and decided to return to Maine and turn himself in. Police did not say where the two had been for the last few days.

Mitchell said the department has not had a chance to interview either Bert or Amanda Francis yet and is still investigating the case.

“The Maine Computer Crimes Task Force was instrumental in tracking him down,” the police chief said. “They were very helpful.”

It’s still uncertain if Bert Francis will face additional charges stemming from the weeklong incident.