An Army Veteran Vanished in January. Why Is a Police Officer Accused of Lying About Encounter with Him?

Erik Foote was last seen on Jan. 30

A Maine police officer is accused of lying about dropping off a missing man at a hospital and is now charged with multiple crimes.

Army veteran Erik Foote, 39, was last seen January 30, according to the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office. According to reports from the Associated Press, the Bangor Daily News and WAGM, authorities say the last person known to have seen Foote was Washburn police Sgt. Chandler Cole.

Cole is now charged with aggravated forgery, tampering with public records or information, falsifying physical evidence and unsworn falsification in connection to the disappearance, the outlets report, citing court records.

Cole is accused of having filed a report saying he had dropped off Foote, who had been walking along a road appearing distressed, at a store, WAGM reported. But, according to the cited court records, Cole is now accused of telling Foote’s parents that he had dropped him off at a hospital and allegedly changed his report to reflect that claim.

Foote has not been located.

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The AP reports that Cole, who resigned from the police department in February, declined to comment on the charges. It is not immediately clear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney.

The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation into Foote’s disappearance.

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