A mysterious note was found at the home of Robert Card, the suspected mass shooter in Maine, as the US Coast Guard joins the extensive search for the fugitive. This discovery was made as law enforcement officials carried out a search warrant at Card's untidy home in Bowdoin on Thursday, as reported by NBC News.
This comes a day after the mentally ill US Army Reservist allegedly killed 18 people and injured 13 more in two mass shootings in Lewiston. Investigators are currently working to ascertain whether the note, the specific contents of which have not been disclosed, could provide any insights into the motive behind the Wednesday night bloodbath.
Mystery Deepens
The details of the note were not shared by the authorities, as the search for Card, 40, entered its second day. At the same time, the Coast Guard has deployed a surveillance plane and boats from Boothbay to join in the manhunt for the alleged mass shooter.
This search effort already involves local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agents, as confirmed by Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Third-Class Diolanda Caballero in a statement to NBC.
Authorities said that Card's car was found abandoned near a boat launch in Lisbon, around 8 miles from the locations of the shootings.
A 15-foot boat, believed to be owned by Card, was reported as missing, according to The Messenger.
Retired NYPD chief Robert Louden suggested that Card, described as a trained marksman and adept outdoorsman by his former Army friends, might have fled into the woods, which would make the search for him "like a spider's web."
"From that parking area where he dumped his scar there's four distinct possibilities," Louden told NBC.
"He killed himself. He got on a boat and went down that little river that's there."
"He went into another car or motorcycle or something that was waiting for him," Louden continued.
"Or there's a hiking trail. He could be in the woods someplace.
"And so it's like a spider's web going out — and you've got to follow all those pieces of the web."
Manhunt Gets Complicated
This came as a DailyMail.com report on Thursday claimed that Card may have fled on a jet ski after his carnage at two separate locations in Lewiston, Maine. Armored tanks and SWAT teams conducted an extensive search in the early hours of Thursday morning, focusing on a waterway entrance to the Androscoggin River.
The operation was prompted after Card's empty white Subaru Outback was found abandoned at a boat dock located in Miller Park, DailyMail.com reported.
Marine records obtained by DailyMail.com indicate that Card registered a 2019 Sea Doo jet ski in his name in June. This has raised concerns that he might have used the watercraft as a means to escape from investigators following the shooting.
Maine State Police deployed aircraft to search a limited section of the river in the early hours of Thursday to locate Card, who authorities have acknowledged suffered from mental health issues, the outlet reported.
Officials reported that a blue Chevy Suburban with a Maine registration plate 6625ZD, believed to be carrying Card, crossed into Massachusetts via the I-93 at 8:01 on Thursday morning.
Police described him as "believed to be armed and dangerous."
The suspect used an AR-15-style rifle to carry out the shooting, first at the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and then at the nearby Schemengees Bar and Grille.
Lewiston councilor Robert McCarthy revealed on Thursday morning that the death toll had reached 18, and the town was grappling with the aftermath of "this kind of a shooting event."
Lewiston, a small city with a population of around 38,000, remains under lockdown as law enforcement officers search for Robert Card. He was placed on a psychiatric hold during the summer due to mental health concerns.
According to reports, Card joined the military in 2002 and was admitted to a mental health facility in July after displaying unusual behavior while at Camp Smith near the military academy at West Point.
The victims of the shooting included members of Lewiston's deaf community, who were engaged in a cornhole competition at Schemengees Bar & Grille when the assailant entered with an assault rifle.
On Thursday, the White House issued a directive for the nation's flags to be flown at half-mast in honor of the tragic incident.
