The Maine mass shooter’s body was discovered at the back of an industrial tractor trailer in an area that investigators admitted they previously ‘cleared’ twice.
Army reservist Robert Card, 40, was found at around 7pm on Friday evening, two days after he opened fire in a bowling alley and bar, killing 18 people and injuring 13 others.
The body was discovered by a Maine Recycling Corporation plant he was recently fired from, just a short walk from where the killer’s vehicle was first found roughly four hours after the shooting erupted.
Mike Sauschuck, Maine’s public safety commissioner, revealed in a Saturday morning press conference that the manhunt scoured the plant twice, and said officials only returned to the area at the direction of the factory’s manager.
He said the location where the body was found was in an overflow parking lot containing roughly 60 trailers, which officials did not realize existed.
‘Nobody had any idea that across the street there was an overflow parking lot,’ he said.
Mike Sauschuck, Maine’s public safety commissioner, revealed in a Saturday morning press conference that Card’s body was found in an industrial tractor trailer inside an overflow parking lot
Card’s body was discovered in the back of an industrial tractor trailer near a recycling plant that he was recently fired from
Officials admitted they ‘cleared’ the area that the body was found twice before eventually finding him
Army reservist Robert card, 40, killed 18 people and injured 13 others in a horrific mass shooting on Wednesday evening
Sauschuck revealed that Card’s body was found alongside two firearms, and appeared to be wearing the ‘same sweatshirt’ he was seen wearing in surveillance images when the shooting took place.
His final movements may have taken him along a secluded, disused railroad track which leads directly to his abandoned vehicle and to the recycling plant where his body was found.
Police had closely guard the entrance to the trail on Friday night after Card’s body was found but .com was able to walk the route on Saturday morning.
The walking trail, which runs southeast along the bank of the Androscoggin River, is a direct path from where his vehicle was found on Wednesday night by a boat dock, to the large industrial complex where the recycling plant is located.
The path runs adjacent to the disused railroad.
One officer who was stationed inside the perimeter of the recycling complex told .com on Saturday that the path may have been Card’s ‘final footsteps’. The officer pointed out the parking lot area where Card’s body was found.
The secluded trail is well-hidden from the nearby main road, Lisbon Street. There are several points which lead directly into the site where the recycling plant is located.
At one point, the path leads into a parking lot where a torn section of police tape was still in place on Saturday morning.
Exclusive drone footage shows police officers stood guard around the overflow parking lot where Card’s body was found in a trailer.
Police guard the scene close to the recycling plant in Lisbon Maine after the Body of Robert card is found
Officials stand guard near the Maine Recycling Corporation plant, which Card was recently fired from
A law enforcement official mans a checkpoint next to the Sparetime Recreation, one of two locations the mass shooter targeted
Much of the investigation has centered on potential motives for the massacre that killed 18 people, with Card’s history of mental illness cited after he previously reported hearing voices.
But Sauschuck appeared to dismiss this as the prime reason, and argued that he knows many local police officers with mental health diagnoses that are not a danger to their community.
‘That’s something that is incredibly important to say and for me to say, and I find myself saying it on a regular basis, just because there appears to be a health nexus to this scenario,’ he continued.
‘The vast, vast, vast majority of people with a health diagnosis will never hurt anybody. They won’t hurt themselves. They are not a danger to the community.
‘Based on percentages alone, there’s a bunch of folks in here that have a health diagnosis, I know law enforcement officers that have a health diagnosis, that doesn’t mean they’re a danger to the community.’
Sauschuck confirmed that cops found a firearm in Card’s vehicle when it was discovered hours after the mass shooting, but declined to elaborate on the make of gun other than describing it as a ‘long gun.’
He added that the manhunt, which lasted for over 48 hours, received 821 tips from the public as residents were left terrified when he was at large.
Police have been criticized by some in the aftermath of Card’s body being found, which Sauschuick appeared to acknowledge as he said he will be questioning how the manhunt unfolded ‘for the rest of my life.’
Maine’s loose gun control laws have also come under scrutiny in recent days, with Sauschuck noting that Card had previously passed background checks.
Card’s vehicle was discovered hours after the shooting, only a short walk from where his body was eventually found days later
Card launched the initial attack at a bowling alley (pictured) at around 6.56pm then struck again at bar and restaurant four miles away just 12 minutes later. Surveillance images of the killer led his family to alert police to his identity, officials said Saturday
Officials are set to open mental health and trauma centers in the area, including a public facility for those not directly affected by the massacre but are affected by the traumatic incident.
When the manhunt was ongoing, a search of a property linked to Card led investigators to find a suicide note inside.
Sauschuck said the note was not ‘explicitly’ a suicide note, but the ‘tone’ of the letter was intended to be read after he was already dead.
He added that it included aspects common in suicide notes, including how to access Card’s bank account and phone.
Card’s family were the first to identify the killer when pictured of the suspect were first released, Sauschuck revealed, and said they immediately alerted police when they saw the surveillance images.
‘Our investigation would have been detrimental if they did not come forward immediately,’ he said. ‘They should be acknowledged in that. As a whole, we’ve found them very cooperative.’
Card killed 18 people in the massacre (pictured), in what has become the deadliest mass shooting of 2023
Law enforcement officers seen temporarily detaining people during the manhunt, which stretched on for over 48 hours until it came to a close Friday evening
The news of Card’s death was met with widespread relief after the manhunt came to a close, lifting various shelter-in-place orders for terrified locals.
The White House released a statement saying the past two days have been ‘tragic’ for the entire country.
‘This has been a tragic two days – not just for Lewiston, Maine, but for our entire country,’ President Joe Biden said in a statement released Friday.
‘Once again, an American community and American families have been devastated by gun violence.
‘In all, at least eighteen souls brutally slain, more injured, some critically, and scores of family and friends praying and experiencing trauma no one ever wants to imagine.
‘Numerous brave law enforcement officers have worked around the clock to find this suspect and prevent the loss of more innocent life – all while risking their own. They are the best of us.
‘Tonight we’re grateful that Lewiston and surrounding communities are safe after spending excruciating days hiding in their homes.
‘I thank Governor Janet Mills for her steady leadership during this time of crisis, and continue to direct my administration to provide everything that is needed to support the people of Maine.
‘Americans should not have to live like this. I once again call on Republicans in Congress to fulfill their obligation to keep the American people safe. Until that day comes, I will continue to do everything in my power to end this gun violence epidemic.
‘The Lewiston community – and all Americans – deserve nothing less.’