CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Fish and Game has suspended its search for a Maine man in the rugged wilderness near Mount Washington as police look into whether a suicide note he left might have been a hoax.
“That certainly is a theory that is out there,” said Fish and Game Lt. Douglas Gralenski, who coordinated an intensive three-day ground and air search for Kevin Race, 46, of Woolwich, Maine.
Race was last seen hiking on Mount Washington on Sunday. He was reported overdue when he had not returned home by Monday. Authorities said he left a note at his home saying he was “looking for his final resting place.”
Police are looking into whether the suicide note was a cover to escape trial.
Race missed an arraignment Tuesday in Lincoln County Superior Court, where he’s charged with embezzling from his business.
, Custom Cordage in Waldoboro, Maine, District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said Friday.
He faces four counts of theft including misusing a company credit card as well as writing checks for personal items. An arrest warrant has been placed on hold while his attorney tries to find him, Rushlau said.
New Hampshire State Police said they are at the initial stages of an investigation.
Without evidence to the contrary, Gralenski said his department was obligated to proceed on the assumption the note was genuine.
“Our responsibility is to find him on the assumption that he, in fact, carried through with his suicide intentions,” he said.
Gralenski said searchers found nothing to support either conclusion.
“We don’t really have any clue whatsoever of where Mr. Race has gone,” he said.
The search area, Gralenski said, is very rugged terrain, filled with places to hide someone who might want to commit suicide and not be found.
“If we didn’t find anything, does that mean he is not there?” he said. “No it doesn’t.”
Fish and Game officers, an Army National Guard helicopter, members of Appalachian Mountain Club, the Mountain Rescue Service, New England K-9 Search and Rescue, Upper Valley Wilderness Response Team and the U.S. Forest Service all searched for Race.
AP-ES-09-14-07 1313EDT
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