2011 cliff rescue

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Updated

Investigation into Mt. Megunticook injuries continues, detectives comb site

Large rescue effort gets man down steep incline

By Lynda Clancy | Apr 11, 2011

(Photo by: Lynda Clancy) An injured man was rescued from an area near Maiden Cliff on Mt. Megunticook in the early evening of April 7. He was carefully lowered over the rocks down the mountain to a waiting ambulance on Route 52.

Camden — A Camden couple remains at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor following injuries sustained April 7 while on Maiden Cliff on Mt. Megunticook in Camden. Maine State Police detectives and Camden police continue their investigation as of Monday, April 11.

Over the weekend, investigators were on the mountain searching for evidence.

"They were looking over the entire scene as part of the investigation," said Camden Police Chief Randy Gagne, on April 11.

The are investigating the circumstances after the couple was seriously injured falling off Maiden Cliff, on Mt. Megunticook on April 7. The location was near the Camden-Lincolnville town line along Route 52.

Being treated at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor are 68-year-old Charles "Reed" Black and his 52-year-old wife, Lisa Black, said McCausland on April 8. Both are retired school teachers who moved to Camden in the past year from Prarie Village, Kansas. On April 10, 2010, they purchased a home in Camden, according to town tax records.

On April 11, McCausland said the couple was still hospitalized, and detectives and game wardens were back at Maiden Cliff over the weekend taking photographs and measurements. Detectives plan to interview the couple further, as soon as their medical conditions improve, he said.

On April 7, Lisa Black was able to stagger to a nearby road and wave down a passerby for help. Rescuers found Charles Black several hundred feet down the sheer cliff. Both husband and wife suffered head injuries and other assorted serious injuries, but his injuries are more severe, McCausland said.

At approximately 6:15 p.m., April 7, rescuers from the Maine State Warden Service, Lincolnville Fire Department and Camden First Aid succeeded in carefully lifting Charles Black down Mt. Megunticook to a waiting ambulance on Route 52, where he was transported to a LifeFlight helicopter at the Lincolnville Fire Department and flown to Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Lisa Black was transported by ambulance to Penobscot Bay Medical Center, and flown to Eastern Maine Medical Center with head wounds. She had made her way down the mountain over the cliffs and rocks and was discovered by a driver along the road.

A search then ensued for the missing man, with search and rescue crews climbing up the mountain from various trails. Charles Black was eventually found by Maine State Wardens Michelle Merrifield and Dave Simmons, with the help of Merrifield's dog, Duchess, in an area known as Maiden Cliff, where a 24-foot-tall cross was erected decades ago.

"We don't know if a crime has been committed," said Camden Police Chief Randy Gagne, on April 7. Detectives with the Maine State Police Criminal Investigation Division are assisting Camden with the investigation. State police will be conducting interviews, said Gagne.

"We're working with Camden police, looking into the circumstances," McCausland said April 8. "We have not interviewed him [Charles Black] yet."

McCausland praised the rescue crews. "It was a great rescue effort by all," he said. "It was a great effort to get him off the cliff."

In a prepared statement, Gagne said Camden and Maine State Police are investigating the incident, which: "involved a male and female who both sustained serious injuries. The female subject was able to make it off the mountain and on to Route 52 where she was assisted by a passing motorist. This female advised Camden Police that a male subject may be injured and still on the mountain. It was not known at the time if this incident occurred in Camden or Lincolnville."

Maiden Cliff has an 800-foot drop of rocks and steep cliff.

The Camden Police Department led the search, assisted by six Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies, Maine State Police, volunteers from Lincolnville Fire Department, Maine State Wardens, Camden Fire Department members and Camden First Aid responders.

Rescue workers had set up a staging area near the boat landing on Route 52.

This story will be updated as more details emerge.

A rescue effort resulted in an injured man being lowered down the steep incline of Mt. Megunticook below Maiden's Cliff, near the Camden-Lincolnville town line. (Photo by: Lynda Clancy)

A crew of emergency response personnel were waiting at the bottom of the mountain. (Photo by: Lynda Clancy)

Rescue crews from search parties carefully pick their way down the steep, boulder-filled mountainside. (Photo by: Lynda Clancy)

(Photo by: Lynda Clancy)

Law enforcement and rescuers set up a command post at the parking lot at the Mt. Megunticook walking trail. (Photo by: Lynda Clancy)

Camden Police Chief Randy Gagne coordinates the search scene. (Photo by: Lynda Clancy)

A rescue effort is under way at Mt. Megunticook. (Photo by: Lynda Clancy)

Maiden Cliff rises above Megunticook Lake. The injured woman descended alone down the mountain to Route 52 below, where a passing motorist stopped to help her.

The female victim was transported from a spot on Route 52 near the Lincolnville town line and rushed to the hospital earlier in the afternoon of April 7. (Photo by: Lynda Clancy)

(Photo by: Lynda Clancy)