AUBURN — Jessica Durant, the 40-year-old homeless woman who fell into a campfire last week, has died.
Durant died at Maine Medical Center in Portland from the burns she suffered when she fell into a fire May 6 in the woods near Moulton Park.
Police said she had been camped out on a trail off Hutchins Street that leads to the Barker Mill. Durant suffered burns over roughly half of her body when she fell into the fire. She was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to the medical center where she had been listed in critical condition until she died earlier this week.
Police said their initial investigation indicates that Durant’s fall into the fire was an accident, but they are continuing to investigate along with the Auburn Fire Department and the Office of State Fire Marshal.
Witnesses have said Durant had been staying with a group of people who had originally been camping in Lewiston but who had recently moved to Auburn. It was not immediately clear how long she had been camping there.
One person familiar with Durant said that she visited the Lewiston Public Library daily and that “a lot of people cared about her.”
Another man, who had been staying at the Hope Haven shelter until he found an apartment, said Durant was “really down to earth.” Durant would panhandle on downtown streets, he said.
“You couldn’t ask for a better person,” he said.
In recent years, Moulton Field has been an attractive site for homeless people, who set up camps in the heavily wooded area near Bonney Park.
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