Missing woman safe; police arrest husband

BINGHAM – A missing Bingham-area woman turned up safe Friday and her estranged husband was arrested for kidnapping one day after the woman’s disappearance triggered a search through remote woodlands by dozens of law enforcement officers.

Authorities looking for Denise Miller, whose age was unavailable, reported Friday night that she had come in to a police command post after being driven there by a family member.

Police contacted her 29-year-old husband, Derek Miller, at an area residence, where he surrendered without incident, according to state police spokesman Stephen McCausland.

McCausland said Denise Miller was taken to a hospital in Skowhegan for observation while her husband was being brought to the Somerset County Jail.

In addition to kidnapping, Derek Miller also faces charges of terrorizing with a firearm and violation of probation, according to McCausland.

Denise Miller’s car had been found in the parking lot of the Bingham Health Center on U.S. Route 201, where she works, at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Her purse was inside the vehicle and the car’s engine was running.

McCausland said a vehicle that Derek Miller was believed to have been driving was located late Thursday afternoon on Rowe Pond Road in Pleasant Ridge Plantation.

Police believe the man and woman spent Thursday night in the woods and on Friday afternoon arrived at the home of a friend in the area. McCausland said Derek Miller telephoned family members, who then came to the home.