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75-year-old man missing for 4 days found alive by K-9 in Maine bog
A 75-year-old man who had been missing for four days after falling off a ledge was found in a bog by a game warden and his K-9, Maine officials said.
Michael Altmaier of New Sharon, Maine, had not been seen since last Monday, when he left his home for a meeting in Weld, a small town in the southwest part of the state, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife said on social media. His car was later discovered by park staff at the Mount Blue State Park Scenic Overlook in Weld.
Maine Warden Service started searching for Altmaier on Friday morning, and at about 3:45 p.m. local time, Game Warden Kayle Hamilton and a K-9 named Ash found him along a bog about 3/4 of a mile from where his car was found.
“It is believed Altmaier had fallen down over a ledged embankment Monday and likely became disoriented,” officials said.
Game wardens, search volunteers and a paramedic were able to reach Altmaier and provide an initial assessment and first aid before a Maine Forest Service helicopter lifted him to a waiting ambulance, officials said. Altmaier was taken to a local hospital, where he stayed overnight.
Emergency rescue workers said Altmaier “was in surprisingly good condition despite spending the last 4 days laying in the area of the bog,” though the hospital has not yet provided an update on his condition.
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Tracking the hours before a young Minnesota woman became a murder victim
On Dec. 15, 2022, Matthew Ecker was headed to work when he said he got a frantic call from his former co-worker and friend Alex Pennig. He said Pennig told him she got in a fight with her boyfriend Shane Anderson and was scared of what he might do. So, Ecker took his gun, which he owned legally, and drove to Pennig’s St. Paul, Minnesota, apartment.
Ecker arrived around 2 p.m. He would later say his only reason for going to Pennig’s was to protect her.
Early the next morning, Pennig was shot dead in her apartment. Detectives used surveillance footage to piece together her final moments.
The altercation
Pennig and Ecker went out to a few bars that evening and ended up at Camp Bar at 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 16, 2022. Anderson was at the bar. Surveillance video shows he walked over to Pennig and began talking to her. Ecker walked over to the two of them. Things got heated, and when Ecker stepped in between Pennig and Anderson, Anderson punched him. Anderson was kicked out of the bar and Pennig and Ecker stayed for about an hour drinking and chatting.
Matthew Ecker and Alex Pennig arrive home for the night
At 2:05 a.m., Pennig and Ecker arrive at her apartment building after walking there from Camp Bar.
A return to the lobby
At 2:24 a.m., Pennig and Ecker are seen back in the lobby as they walk out of the building. Ecker would later say he was going to his car to get his headphones. Pennig (pictured) returned first and waited in the vestibule for Ecker. She paces around looking at her phone.
Alex Pennig last seen alive
Ecker returns two minutes after Pennig at 2:30 a.m. The two then walk through the lobby and go back up to Pennig’s apartment. This is the last time Pennig was seen alive.
St. Paul police officers arrive on scene
At 2:50 a.m., Ecker called 911 and reported that Pennig shot herself in the head. St. Paul police officers raced to the apartment building and Ecker let them inside at 2:56 a.m.
Matthew Ecker’s story
After leading police officers to Pennig’s apartment, Ecker sat in the hallway, appearing distressed and emotional. Officer Justina Hser approached him and began asking him what happened. Their conversation, which lasted nearly an hour, was captured on her body camera. Ecker told her everything was fine between him and Pennig and that they did not have an argument. He said she grabbed his gun out of his backpack, backed into the bathroom and locked the door. Moments later, Ecker said he heard a shot, so he broke open the bathroom door to find Pennig laying on the floor with a gunshot wound to her left temple.
The weapon
Responding officers located the gun. It was on Pennig’s chest with her left hand resting on top. They noted that this seemed odd. One officer then moved the gun to the sink (pictured) to place it in a safe position.
Notable evidence
Ecker had told officers he washed his hands after trying to help Pennig, which is why his hands were clean. But the officers noticed that the bathroom sink was dry when they arrived. If Ecker had just washed his hands, detectives believed the sink probably would have still been wet.
A lack of evidence on Matthew Ecker
Ecker was interviewed by detectives around 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 16, 2022. He had no visible blood on his body or his clothes. It was later discovered that Ecker also had no gunshot residue on him.
The defining evidence
While Ecker was being interviewed at the police station, the forensic unit processing the scene notified detectives that they had found a new piece of evidence once Pennig’s body was moved. It was a metal piece of the bathroom door lock, and it was discovered on the floor where Pennig’s head was. The detectives suspected that when Ecker broke open the door, that small metal piece landed on the bathroom floor. According to the detectives’ theory, Ecker broke open the bathroom door, then Pennig was shot and fell on top of the piece. They say this proves the bathroom door was forced open before Pennig was shot, and that Ecker had lied to them.
The accused: Matthew Ecker
On Dec. 19, 2022, Matthew Ecker is formally charged with second-degree murder. Ecker denies killing Alex Pennig.
The trial of Matthew Ecker
On Feb. 8, 2024, Ecker’s trial begins. Eight days later, on Feb. 16, 2024, he is found guilty of second-degree murder.
Matthew Ecker sentencing
On April 3, 2024, Ecker is sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is appealing his conviction.
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Eye on America: New hotel runs on clean energy, and growing threats of inland flooding
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