Alcohol suspected in athlete’s death UM soccer star died at friend’s home

Portland police believe alcohol was a factor in the weekend death of 19-year-old University of Maine freshman Adam Baxter, Deputy Police Chief William Ridge said Monday.

Baxter, a promising UM soccer player, was at a friend’s home in Portland when an ambulance was called to the residence early Saturday morning for a report of a male having difficulty breathing.

“When they got there, they found Baxter unconscious and unresponsive,” Ridge said. “[Baxter] was declared dead at the scene.”

The state medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy Monday, but the official cause of death won’t be available for four or five months while toxicology tests are done at an out-of-state lab.

Portland police don’t believe there was any foul play in Baxter’s death, but alcohol is believed to have played a part.

Baxter, a native of Skegness, England, was a first-year student at UM, according to university spokesman Joe Carr. He lived in Knox Hall on the Orono campus and was studying kinesiology and physical therapy. Earlier this month, the UM men’s soccer team member was named to the 2007 America East All-Rookie Team.

At the time of his death, Baxter was at 1757 Forest Ave., Portland, the family home of former UM soccer teammate Sean Meehan, 19.

The investigation is ongoing, and police are interviewing others who were at the house in an attempt to re-create what might have happened, Ridge said.

Meehan found himself in trouble with the law earlier this month as the result of an alcohol-related incident at St. Joseph’s College in Standish.

A Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deputy was called to a women’s dormitory on campus after dorm staff reportedly asked two intoxicated males to leave. They refused to do so. The men, in particular Meehan, became combative against the staff, used “vulgar obscenities” and had to be restrained until police arrived, Ridge said.

After assessing the situation, the deputy thought it was in the best interest of all parties to get the men off the campus as soon as possible, Ridge read from the police report. Two sober friends agreed to drive Meehan and the other man involved in the incident, Anthony Lord, 21, of Orono, to Meehan’s parents’ house in Portland.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident and decided to charge the two men. Meehan was summoned for two counts of assault and one count of indecent conduct. Lord was summoned for one count of disorderly conduct.

The two are expected to appear at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 29, at 9th District Court in Bridgton.

UM spokesman Carr confirmed Monday that Meehan was suspended from the university Nov. 9 for violating the student conduct code. Meehan’s suspension continues through the academic year until May 2008, Carr said.

Carr said he couldn’t provide additional details regarding the suspension because of privacy laws, but said Lord is not now a UM student either.

To help UM students and Baxter’s teammates cope with the loss, counselors from the UM Counseling Center were available Sunday when students returned after Thanksgiving break, and services continued Monday.

“That sort of outreach activity is continuing,” Carr said.

Aimee Dolloff can be reached at adolloff@bangordailynews.net or 990-8130.