PARIS — Police said Tuesday they have identified two people of interest in Saturday night’s hit-and-run on Route 117 that killed 16-year-old Xavier Fuentes of Turner.
Paris police Sgt. Jeffrey Lange said he has questioned one of the people but declined to say whether the other individual had been contacted.
Police were led to the individuals through tipsters, Lange said. Investigators have received at least a dozen tips about the case so far and continue to follow up on leads and piece together evidence in the case.
The report from a crash-scene reconstruction conducted by Deputy Michael Dailey of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office is expected to be released soon, Lange said.
The Maine State Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on Fuentes’ body Tuesday morning. According to spokesman Mark Belserene, the teen’s death was caused by “multiple blunt-force injuries.”
Examiners had yet to determine the manner of death, Belserene said.
Fuentes was struck by a vehicle sometime before 8:30 p.m. Saturday on an unlit stretch of Route 117 between a small rest stop and Brett Hill Road. He was wearing all black clothing and would have been difficult for a driver to see, but he was walking against traffic on the left side of the road, Lange said.
His body was found in the middle of the travel lane by passing motorist Heather Buck of Buckfield at about 8:30 p.m., Lange said.
Fuentes was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Based on evidence at the scene, police believe the vehicle that struck Fuentes was a pickup truck or an SUV.
Fuentes was at Flagship Cinemas in Oxford with members of his family Saturday night when he left and apparently began walking home to Turner, Lange said. When members of his family discovered he wasn’t at the theater, they filed a missing person report Saturday night, the sergeant said.
The accident occurred about 4 miles from the cinema.
Anyone with information or possible leads is asked to call the Paris Police Department at 207-743-7448 or email detective@parismaine.org.
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