WATERFORD – A 16-year-old Bridgton boy was found dead on the side of Mill Hill Road early Sunday morning.

Police believe he was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

Jesse Wildes, a student at Lake Region High School, was last seen at 1 a.m. Sunday, police said. A passing motorist discovered his body an hour later, partially in the roadway and partially in a ditch on the right side of Mill Hill Road leading up a hill from the Kimball Road.

State police spent Sunday interviewing people who attended a party in the area, along with neighbors and others.

“We’re still trying to retrace his footsteps,” said Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.

As news spread of the death, state police fielded calls from at least a half-dozen worried parents in the area, McCausland said. A mid-day call from either the boy’s family member or a friend gave police a tentative identification.

The State Medical Examiner’s Office determined late Sunday that the boy’s injuries were consistent with being struck by a vehicle, McCausland said.

For evidence collection, state police blocked off the stretch of Mill Hill Road where the body was found until nearly noon Sunday. A tracking dog was brought in to search the area, but nothing unusual turned up.

Maine State Police are seeking information about any vehicle with front-end damage that might have traveled that road between 1 and 2 a.m.

Police said Wildes was 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds with brown hair. He was wearing shorts and a hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with information they think might be useful should call the Maine State Police in Gray at 657-3030, McCausland said.

, McCausland said.

ggeraghty@sunjournal.com

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