Maine State Police and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office vehicles are parked Sunday near the site of a reported standoff at 17 Hankerson Road in Chelsea. Ashley Allen/Kennebec Journal
CHELSEA — The man who was the subject of an extensive search in Dresden on Saturday was shot and killed in Chelsea on Sunday after law enforcement officials obtained a warrant to search a property on Hankerson Road.
According to a news release from the Maine State Police issued Sunday, Frank Foss Jr., 28, of Dresden was shot by Maine State Police Det. Scott Duff after Foss pointed a handgun at a member of the Maine State Police Tactical Team who was searching a wooded area around the residence.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office had requested the help of the Maine State Police tactical and crisis negotiating teams in executing arrest and search warrants for Foss. Foss was wanted on charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and violating conditions of release. Those charges stemmed from a prior domestic violence charge.
Frank Foss Jr. Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office photo
Late Saturday, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office identified Foss as the target of the search it made earlier in the day for several hours in a wooded area on the Dresden-Wiscasset town line that shut down access to at least three roads for several hours.
In a post on Facebook, the sheriff’s office said Foss was wanted on charges stemming from an incident earlier this month, and they believed he was camping in a wooded area in Dresden. Searchers didn’t find him, and the roads that were blocked — Calls Hill, Orchard Hill and Old Dresden roads — were eventually reopened.
Based on their investigation, Lincoln County Sheriff’s detectives secured a search warrant for 17 Hankerson Road, and neighbors reported a heavy law enforcement presence in the area shortly after noon on Sunday.
Timothy Jordan, who lives on Cheney Road, said he was headed out from his home shortly before noon Sunday when he saw a silver SUV parked in his driveway. Initially, he said, he thought someone had pulled off the road to make a call or to text, but when he pulled out onto the road, he saw about a dozen law enforcement vehicles, including an armored vehicle.
As he watched, he saw a drone being deployed and heard a helicopter overhead. At about that point, he was stopped by police and told he couldn’t turn in the direction he planned to go, and he couldn’t return home.
“As I turned (in the other direction), I look to my right saw all the SWAT guys getting out of their vehicle and getting their guns, just like you see on TV,” he said.
He said he reached out to friends and learned that people in the neighborhood were told to lock their doors and windows.
In May 2020, Foss was arrested on several charges after he had reportedly stolen a gun from a relative and allegedly fired it at his wife and children. At that time, Foss was found living in a small shack on a property on Calls Hill Road. At that time, he was out on bail stemming from an incident in Milo in December 2019 when he was accused of killing a cat and shooting at his wife and children while intoxicated.
As a result, he was charged with domestic violence terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, operating under the influence and cruelty to animals. As a condition of his release at that time, he was prohibited from possessing firearms.
A search of the shack turned up four stolen guns.
According to the news release issued Sunday, Duff will be on administrative leave, which is standard practice when a law enforcement officer uses deadly force in the line of duty.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office will investigate the shooting.
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