A six-hour standoff in Harrington on Thursday ended peacefully after a son and father surrendered to Maine State Police.

Elliot Robinson, 60, and Vernon Robinson, 78, were preventing the matriarch of the family – Elva Robinson, 84 – from getting treatment, according to state police spokesman Steve McCausland. Elliot Robinson had threatened violence if anyone tried to remove Elva from the home, McCausland said.

After a series of phone calls with Maine State Police negotiators and the state police tactical team, which were both on scene, the two men surrendered around 6:15 p.m. They have been charged with criminal restraint.

Elva Robinson has been under adult protective custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services for treatment of long-term illnesses. The men no longer wanted her to receive treatment, McCausland said.

Elva Robinson has been taken to Machias Hospital. Her condition wasn’t immediately known.

Both men were taken to Washington County Jail. Police were searching the property for firearms Thursday night that they believe the men possessed, McCausland said.


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