FALMOUTH – Police are looking for the owner of a lifelike, life-size female doll that was found wrapped in a blanket and fooled investigators who had been called to investigate a possible murder.

Police said they believe the doll was a sex toy that was custom-made for someone and cost thousands of dollars. The doll has been sent to the state crime laboratory in Augusta for further examination.

Two teen-agers riding all-terrain vehicles Monday afternoon in West Falmouth found the doll and thought it was a dead woman. The doll was tightly wrapped in a blanket with a rope around it. Maine State Police were called to investigate what they assumed was a woman’s death. After several hours of processing possible evidence and securing the scene, they were shocked – and relieved – when they unwrapped the blanket and found a 70-pound doll made of a rubberlike latex material.

“As we were standing there, we were all saying we’d never seen anything like this in the state of Maine,” said Falmouth Police Chief Edward Tolan. “Somebody did this for our benefit.”

Police are not treating the incident as a crime, but are disturbed that the doll had been dumped face down in a large puddle with its hands tied behind its back and its head removed.

Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine State Police, said the object was being examined for any evidence that could identify the owner or help investigators solve past or future sex crimes.

Brent Turvey, a criminal profiler based in Oregon, said it’s unlikely that the doll’s owner would dump such an expensive toy in the woods. He’s said it’s more likely that a jilted partner ditched the doll as payback.

“I think you’re going to find some ugly domestic thing at the end of this,” said Turvey. “I’d be very surprised if the owner of a $6,000 doll would do this.”