A mother and her two children were found dead this past weekend at their apartment in Mechanic Falls.
A statement released by Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said that the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit responded to a request for assistance from the Mechanic Falls police department around 4 p.m. Saturday, after three bodies were found during a routine wellness check in an apartment at 5 Highland Road.
Moss said that all three bodies were taken to Augusta for autopsies, and that there was no danger to the public.
No additional information will be released until after the autopsies have been completed, Moss added.
While the Department of Public Safety has not released any information regarding the identity of the victims, multiple neighbors confirmed that the residents of the unit where the bodies were found were a mother and two young daughters, ages approximately 8 and 11.
In a message posted on Facebook, RSU 16 Superintendent Amy Hediger wrote that their community was facing “an unimaginable loss with the believed passing of two students from Elm Street School.”
Hediger said that the Elm Street School crisis team is planning how best to support staff and students through this difficult time.
Hediger went on to acknowledge how word spreads fast on social media, and asked community members to rely on Maine State Police for information regarding the case.
Neighbors had been aware for weeks that something may have been awry.
A U-Haul rental truck the woman had acquired after her car broke down went untouched for weeks.
One neighbor from across the street said that she hadn’t seen the family since July 16, which was odd considering “they took their dogs out three times a day, and the kids were always full of energy jumping on their trampoline”.
Some neighbors said they assumed that the family had moved out of state.
An attorney representing the landlord of the apartment where the bodies were found said that his client had no comment at this time.
In a show of support, classmates from Elm Street School and others in the community have been leaving flowers and handwritten notes at the bottom of the stairs leading to the apartment unit.