Clues sought in burning man’s death Police seek motorists’ help

BANGOR – Two days after the body of a man was found burning under a bridge, Bangor police investigators were stopping traffic on the span Thursday, asking motorists for any details that might shed light on the death.

With a light snow falling, detectives handed out more than 500 fliers for about 90 minutes to motorists traveling down Harlow and Nelson streets at the bridge over the Kenduskeag Stream where the grisly discovery was made by a passing motorist about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday.

They handed out the half-page sheets from about 4:30 to 6 p.m., extending their search for someone who may have seen something the day the body was found. Police are calling the death suspicious.

The flier asked motorists who use the road regularly or were on it that afternoon whether they saw anyone walking or running in the area or anything that caught their attention, and to contact police if they had.

Meanwhile, an investigator said authorities are closer to formally identifying the body, but that the identification was awaiting a determination by the state medical examiner’s office. He said the body was badly burned and that likely was making identification difficult.

“We have a good idea, but we can’t release anything until we know for sure,” Detective Sgt. Paul Kenison said Thursday.

While an identification could come today or in the next few days, a cause of death likely will take longer. The state medical examiner’s office performed an autopsy on the body Wednesday, but determined that more tests were needed to find out what caused the death.

An official from the medical examiner’s office contacted Thursday couldn’t speak specifically about the Bangor case, but said that standard testing includes at least a toxicology test that could take several weeks for results. The test identifies whether drugs or toxic substances were present in the man’s system.

A final determination could take three to four months, the official with the medical examiner’s office said.

Without knowing how the man died, investigators can’t say whether they are investigating a homicide, suicide or an accident. Officials said they are calling it suspicious until a cause of death indicates otherwise.

The body was discovered during a peak traffic time on the road. Bangor police Sgt. Donald Gagner, who arrived on the scene behind the Fire Department, said the flames were 2 feet high and smoke was all over the bridge.

Although early reports indicated there was a lot of smoke and fire, Kenison said that investigators so far have found nothing to indicate that an accelerant such as gasoline was used, although he was careful to not completely rule out the possibility. Evidence taken from the scene has been forwarded to the state’s crime lab for evaluation.

“We haven’t found any indication of an accelerant,” Kenison said. “It doesn’t mean that it wasn’t there. They could test for it at the crime lab and come up with something.”

With no formal identification or determination of a cause of death, Kenison was careful how he described the incident, but he is concerned that other people may not be so cautious. With reports of homeless people being assaulted and in one case on Sunday in Boston, burned, attention has been focused on this case as a possible incident of physical attacks on homeless people.

“People are jumping to conclusions and I think that the press is fueling that,” Kenison said. “We don’t have any information that that’s the case [an attack against a homeless man].

The phone number listed on the flier police distributed Thursday is 947-7382, ext. 795.