BINGHAM — The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit cordoned off an area around Baker Street on Sunday after the body of a Massachusetts man was found in a driveway early Sunday morning.

State police and the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office say the death of 61-year-old Ernest Sayers of Haverhill, Mass., remains under investigation.

Maine State Police Lt. Christopher Coleman said Sayers had been staying with his girlfriend in Bingham for about two weeks.

Sayers had attended a gathering in town Saturday night and Coleman said Sayers had left alone on foot late in the evening.

Coleman said it appeared Sayers cut through a snow-covered path leading from U.S. Route 201 to Baker Street on the way to his girlfriend’s house.

He said that a resident in the neighborhood, where the homes are clustered close together, looked out a window, saw Sayers lying in a driveway, and called police.

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Officers from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene, as did an ambulance crew, said Coleman.
Sayers was not wearing his jacket, said Coleman.

The jacket was found near the body, which is common in instances of hypothermia, he said.

Hypothermia occurs when a person’s body loses heat faster than it can produce it, resulting in a dangerously low body temperature.

The heart, nervous system and other organs don’t function properly and, according to the Mayo Clinic website, people can become clumsy and confused and make poor decisions, including removing their clothing.

Coleman said the major crimes unit was called in to make sure foul play was not involved.

Detectives said they will await the finding of an autopsy by the State Medical Examiner’s Office, which will be done either today or Tuesday.

Beth Staples — 861-9252
bstaples@centralmaine.com


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