BY DOUG HARLOW

Staff Writer

EAST MADISON — An autopsy was performed Wednesday on the body of a Somerset County Jail inmate who was found dead inside the jail Wednesday morning.

The inmate, Joesph F. Daoust, 27, of Wilton, was being held on drug trafficking charges originating in Franklin County, according to jail administrator Maj. Cory Swope.

A corrections officer found Daoust unresponsive during a routine security check shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday. His body was taken to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, where the autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death.

“As a result of the autopsy, a definitive cause of death was not determined, and further testing will be required,” Swope said.

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Corrections officers and medical staff performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Swope said. Redington-Fairvew General Hospital EMS, from Skowhegan, was dispatched to the jail.

“Corrections staff and emergency personnel were unsuccessful in their attempts to revive Mr. Daoust,” Swope said in a prepared statement. “He was pronounced deceased at the Somerset County Jail.”

According to Somerset County Jail protocol, Maine State Police detectives were called to the scene to investigate. Reports will be submitted to the Department of Corrections.

The Wilton Police Department made notification to Daoust’s family.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367 | dharlow@centralmaine.com | Twitter: @Doug_Harlow


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