Wardens find missing Rangeley Plantation man’s body in Rangeley Lake

The Maine Warden Service recovered the body of a missing 76-year-old man late Monday night in Rangeley Lake, about a quarter-mile from his home.

Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said game warden Chad Robertson and his trained dog, Storm, located Ernest Van Soeren of Rangeley Plantation in about a foot water along the shoreline of Rangeley Lake. Van Soeren lived at 237 West Shore Road.

Van Soeren was last seen at 9:45 a.m. Monday. A search involving the Warden Service, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Border Patrol led to the discovery of his body around 9 p.m.

Latti said wardens do not know how Van Soeren ended up in the water. His body was taken to a local funeral home, where a cause of death will be determined by a state medical examiner. His death is not considered suspicious.