Police say suicide was committed in the same spot as two earlier suicides.

LEWISTON – A teenager found dead in the woods near Sabattus Street and East Avenue Sunday afternoon appeared to be the victim of a suicide, police said Monday.

Carroll Niemi Jr., 19, had been missing for three days before his body was found, police said. Investigators believe Niemi hung himself from a tree in the wooded area before the weekend.

A couple taking a walk Sunday afternoon discovered Niemi’s body on the ground near a footpath in the woods. Investigators believe Niemi had been hanging since late last week before his body fell from the tree.

Friends were mystified Monday about what may have driven the teen to suicide.

“I have no idea,” said Laurie Cloutier. “He was a very nice kid.”

Niemi has several relatives in the area. Investigators said the teenager left notes for some family members before he hung himself.

Police were continuing to investigate the death Monday although no foul play is suspected.

For investigators, the discovery of Niemi’s body caused a grim sense of deja vu. Niemi was the third young man to hang himself in the small patch of woods over the last nine years.

In September 1995, Lewiston High School football captain Scott Croteau was found hanging there after an intense police search involving local, state and federal officials. The search went on for days and drew media attention from around the country before Croteau was found hanging. That death was ruled a suicide.

In September 1999, a man in his 20s was found hanging from a tree in the same spot. That man had been depressed and left behind a suicide note, police said. His body was discovered by a teenager walking through the woods.

Investigators said Monday there did not appear to be a connection between any of the three people who have committed suicide in the area.

“I think it’s just a somewhat secluded area, and it’s close to home,” said Lewiston police Detective David Chick. “There’s evidence kids have partied there in the past.”

Niemi lived on East Avenue, not far from the scene of the hanging. Croteau lived on Goulet Street a short distance away. Police said the man who hung himself there in 1999 was not from the area. However, he knew that a friend would be passing by soon to discover the body.

Behavioral and Crisis Management Specialist Laurie Cyr-Martel tends to agree with Chick. The most recent suicide probably had nothing to do with the growing notoriety of the wooded area at Sabattus and East.

A person who wants to commit suicide tends to choose a spot where they will have relative privacy, Cyr-Martel said. That often involves a spot close to home but remote enough so that the suicidal person will not be interrupted.

Cyr-Martel was not familiar with details of the Niemi suicide. But she said young men who commit suicide outnumber young women by a 5-1 ratio. Overall, youth depression and suicide is a problem just about everywhere. Temporary problems may seem huge to young people just learning to take on the problems of everyday life.

“It’s a total lack of impulse control,” Cyr-Martel said.

According to a study by Eastern Maine Health Care, state and national records show that suicide is the second leading cause of death in Maine youths ages 10-19, with accidents being the first. The most recent figures show that Maine has consistently higher suicide rates than the national average.

The average suicide rate for youths in Maine ages 15-19 is almost 20 percent higher than the U.S. average, while the rate for ages 10-14 has nearly doubled since the 1980s, according to the study.

Anyone in Maine who feels in crisis can call a confidential statewide crisis hot line, toll-free at 1-888-568-1112.

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