As the hunt for Maine mass shooting suspect Robert Card stretches into a third day, authorities revealed on Friday that divers are searching a stretch of the Androscoggin River, near where his car was found.
“The Maine State Police dive team will be in the water and will be leading this initiative,” Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said during a press conference. “We don’t have him in custody, so all of those options are on the table.”
Sauschuck stressed that investigators do not know whether Card is in the Maine river, but the aquatic search is yet another avenue authorities are pursuing as part of the expansive hunt for the 40-year-old father who allegedly opened fire at a Maine bowling alley and bar on Wednesday evening.
The massacre at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar in Lewiston left at least 18 people dead and several injured. Among the injured were kids participating in a children’s bowling league and deaf bargoers taking part in a cornhole night.
Sauschuck confirmed on Friday that Card left a note at his home, but the commissioner would not provide further details on its contents.
Card, an Army reservist whose mental health had deteriorated severely in recent months, fled after the twin mass shootings, spurring an exhaustive search that has paralyzed a Maine community. Sauschuck said on Friday that authorities have received more than 530 leads and investigators are carefully investigating the tips.
“We do appreciate everybody’s cooperation,” Sauschuck added. “Every minute this goes on the more and more we’re concerned, because what’s the next thing that’s going to happen?”
Officials have yet to address a potential motive behind the murder spree. But Katie Card, the suspect’s sister-in-law, told The Daily Beast on Thursday that the Army reservist had claimed he was hearing voices after getting powerful hearing aids a few months ago. “He truly believed he was hearing people say things,” she added. “This all just happened within the last few months.”
A spokesperson for the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs confirmed to The Daily Beast that Car began “behaving erratically” while in training at the United States Military Academy on July 16. He was admitted to a hospital and “out of concern for his safety, the unit requested that law enforcement be contacted,” the spokesperson said. A former army colleague told CNN that Card was one of the best shooters in their unit and was “very comfortable in the woods.”
“I will ask the community to be as patient as possible with this process, realizing there are many many moving parts,” Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre said on Friday.
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