Latest news with #WGME
Daily Record
18-07-2025
- Daily Record
Twin toddlers killed as mum walked to shop with buggy in alleged hit-and-run
The horrific incident happened as Mollie Egold, 33, took her twins for a walk to the shop. Two toddlers have been killed after a car ploughed into a mum while pushing her sons in a buggy. The horrific incident happened as Mollie Egold, 33, took her twins for a walk to the shop in Maine in the US. At around 5.12pm local time on Friday, July 11, a man driving a white 2016 Hyundai Veloster reportedly struck the family. Emergency services responded to the crash in the area of 60 Hussey Hill Road in Albion. According to local news site WGME, Egold had been pushing the boys in a stroller at the time and was hit from behind. Officers allege that the driver of the Hyundai fled the scene but was later identified as Benjamin Lancaster, 44, and arrested. It was reported that one adult and two minor children were struck by a vehicle, and the vehicle fled the scene. Mollie, of Albion, was transported from the scene via LifeFlight to hospital with serious injuries, reports the Mirror. Maine State Police said in a statement that she remains in stable condition. One of the boys, identified in a GoFundMe as Bradley, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Egold and the other boy, Noah, were taken to the hospital. The organizers of the GoFundMe said Noah died days later at the hospital. Lancaster was taken into custody and transported to the Kennebec County Jail on the following charges: operating under the Influence causing death, operating under the Influence causing serious bodily injury (2 counts), leaving the scene of an accident causing death and leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury (2 counts). A police spokesperson said: "Troopers are seeking video footage or surveillance that may cover Hussey Road or Main Street in Albion between 5pm and 5:15pm on July 11, 2025, involving a white vehicle matching the description above. Anyone with relevant footage or information is encouraged to contact Sgt. Garret Booth at 207.624.7076. The Maine State Police were assisted by LifeFlight of Maine, Albion Fire Department, and Delta Ambulance." It is not immediately clear if Lancaster has entered a plea. According to the GoFundMe, set up by a family friend, reads: " I am setting up this Fund to assist my good friend Martha Foster Collins and her adopted daughter Mollie Katrina Egold after a tragic accident. On July 11th, Mollie was walking to the store with her twin 2 and 1/2 yr old boys in a cart. A hit and run driver struck them just minutes after leaving and later was apprehended." Talking about the medical side of things the page explains: "One twin, Bradley died at the scene. The other, Noah was transported to ICU in Portland in serious condition. Noah was pronounced brain dead this morning, 7/13/25, was retested again Monday and Tuesday morning. Noah tested for the 3rd consecutive day to be brain dead on 7/15 and was taken off life support. He is with Bradley in Heaven. Mollie was transported to ICU in Bangor with multiple broken bones and had two surgeries already." So far it has raised more than $45,000. You can donate to the GoFundMe page by clicking here.
Daily Mirror
18-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Twin toddlers killed in alleged hit-and-run as mum walked to shop with buggy
33-year-old Mollie Egold had decided to take her twin sons for a walk to the shop but a man driving a white 2016 Hyundai Veloster struck the family before fleeing the scene A trip to the shops turned into every parent's worst nightmare when a car ploughed into a mum pushing her two sons in a buggy. The horrific incident happened on Friday, July 11 when 33-year-old Mollie Egold had decided to take her twin sons for a walk to the shop in Maine, but at around 5.12pm local time a man driving a white 2016 Hyundai Veloster reportedly struck the family. Emergency services responded to a motor vehicle versus pedestrian crash in the area of 60 Hussey Hill Road in Albion. WGME reported that Egold had been pushing the boys in a stroller at the time and was hit from behind. Police allege that the driver of the Hyundai fled the scene but was later identified as Benjamin Lancaster, 44, and arrested. It was reported that one adult and two minor children were struck by a vehicle, and the vehicle fled the scene. Mollie, of Albion, was transported from the scene via LifeFlight to hospital with serious injuries. She remains in stable condition, Maine State Police said in a statement. One of the boys, identified in a GoFundMe as Bradley, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Egold and the other boy, Noah, were taken to the hospital. The organizers of the GoFundMe said Noah died days later at the hospital. Lancaster was taken into custody and transported to the Kennebec County Jail on the following charges: operating under the Influence causing death, operating under the Influence causing serious bodily injury (2 counts), leaving the scene of an accident causing death and leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury (2 counts). A police spokesperson said: "Troopers are seeking video footage or surveillance that may cover Hussey Road or Main Street in Albion between 5pm and 5:15pm on July 11, 2025, involving a white vehicle matching the description above. Anyone with relevant footage or information is encouraged to contact Sgt. Garret Booth at 207.624.7076. The Maine State Police were assisted by LifeFlight of Maine, Albion Fire Department, and Delta Ambulance." It is not immediately clear if Lancaster has entered a plea. According to the GoFundMe, set up by a family friend, reads: " I am setting up this Fund to assist my good friend Martha Foster Collins and her adopted daughter Mollie Katrina Egold after a tragic accident. On July 11th, Mollie was walking to the store with her twin 2 and 1/2 yr old boys in a cart. A hit and run driver struck them just minutes after leaving and later was apprehended." Talking about the medical side of things the page expalins: "One twin, Bradley died at the scene. The other, Noah was transported to ICU in Portland in serious condition. Noah was pronounced brain dead this morning, 7/13/25, was retested again Monday and Tuesday morning. Noah tested for the 3rd consecutive day to be brain dead on 7/15 and was taken off life support. He is with Bradley in Heaven. Mollie was transported to ICU in Bangor with multiple broken bones and had two surgeries already." So far it has raised more than $45,000.
Global News
11-07-2025
- Global News
Missing paddleboarder's body found, death ruled a homicide by Maine police
The death of a paddleboarder who never returned after heading out for an evening on the water in Maine has been ruled a homicide by police. Investigators have identified the deceased as 48-year-old Sunshine Stewart. Her body was found during a search of Crawford Pond in Union, a town in southern Maine, after she disappeared on July 2, authorities confirmed in a statement. An autopsy determined her death was a homicide. The cause of death has not been released, and police have not shared any information about potential suspects, though they did indicate that the conditions under which she was found warranted the presence of additional units. View image in full screen Crawford Pond is seen on July 9, 2025, in Union, Maine. Robert F. Bukaty / Getty Images Kate Hamar, who lives in the area, told CBS local affiliate WGME that at first, people thought Stewart had died in a boating accident. Story continues below advertisement 'It's left everybody pretty shaken,' Hamar said, adding that the lack of information is causing concern. 'From how hush-hush they're [police are] being, it seems like maybe there's more going on,' she said. The owner of Mic Mac campground near Crawford Pond, Kathy Lunt, told WGME that Stewart lived seasonally on the property and that she was seen heading out on her paddleboard hours before she went missing. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Lunt told the outlet that she called the police when Stewart's roommate expressed concern about her whereabouts. The campground said in a Facebook statement on Monday that investigators had been on site every day since the incident to access the crime scene, which Lunt said was not on the actual campgrounds. View image in full screen Campers ride a golf cart to the Mic Mac Cove Campground on July 9, 2025, in Union, Maine. Police are using the campground to access Crawford Pond to investigate the murder of a woman last seen paddleboarding on the pond. Robert F. Bukaty / Getty Images Sarah Nelson, who was raised in Union, told the local outlet, 'It's really sad that this happened. I have friends that live on that lake, and I can only imagine how they feel.' Story continues below advertisement Meanwhile, a childhood friend of Stewart's has spoken out in her memory. Meredith Smith, who grew up with Stewart in Union, told WGME, 'When they said it was her, I couldn't even believe it. She was just a great, great person all-around.' 'To know Sunny, I don't think she had a bad bone in her body, and anyone that knew her was just in awe of her,' Smith continued. 'Nobody would want to hurt Sunny. So, it's kind of scary for all of us who live local to think that somebody is out there, if they can do that to her, then what could possibly happen next?' A GoFundMe campaign has been set up in Stewart's name to help cover funeral costs. It had raised more than US$21,000 as of Friday morning. Story continues below advertisement 'We've unexpectedly lost the light in our lives that was Sunny. We are asking everyone who has reached out to see how they could help to please help us to send her off the right way,' the fundraising page says. Investigators searched a dumpster at Mic Mac Campground on Monday, according to CBS. Maine police said the investigation is ongoing is asking anyone who may have seen Stewart paddleboarding on July 2 between 6 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Crawford Pond to contact police. 'As always, members of the public are encouraged to remain aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement. Additional information will be released when it becomes appropriate to do so based on the progress of the investigation,' police said.
Miami Herald
02-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Police apologize after using AI-altered photo to boast about Maine drug bust
A police department in Maine shared a photo edited with artificial intelligence as it boasted about a recent drug bust. The Westbrook Police Department has since apologized, saying in a July 1 post on Facebook that edits made on the original photo through 'a Photoshop app' were not caught before it was shared online. Police later revealed to WGME that it was ChatGPT, not Photoshop, that was used to revise the photo. 'When we look and compare the two photos, it's really bizarre as to what that app did to the photo,' Westbrook Police Capt. Steven Goldberg told the news outlet. 'As you mentioned, it got rid of those cookie cutter packaging, it completely redid the lettering of some of the packages and it seemed to alter some of the things we took pictures of. I know we mentioned the spoon and the case, and we don't have a good explanation why.' The original post was deleted, but police provided the original photo and the edited one in its follow-up. It said the photo was edited with AI, not generated. The department said it did not realize parts of the image had been changed until members of the community brought up their concerns. 'Clearly, we should have looked further into the shared image,' police said in its Facebook post. 'We consider this a valuable lesson learned. This image distracted from the message we wanted to share, which is that dangerous drugs have been removed from our community.' But before realizing its photo had been altered, police doubled down and 'set the record straight.' The 'gibberish' text shown in the AI-edited photo was real, the department initially said. 'That is legitimately what was located and seized by officers,' police said. 'The packaging is most likely foreign, and it is possible that whoever made that packaging used AI to make a clearly knock-off package.' The department's follow-up post has received hundreds of comments, many of which criticize its use of AI. Others say they were 'gaslit' by the department's second post, which was also deleted. 'Doubling down on the clearly altered pictures and promising you didn't use any AI before posting this new update was an interesting choice,' one commenter said. 'The dangerous part isn't that you used AI to alter an image. It's that you denied using AI at all on the photo,' another commenter said. 'You told a bold faced lie to the public that you are sworn to serve.' 'This incident should be used as a primary source example for the responsible and accountable use of technology (particularly AI) by police departments in public facing spaces,' one man said. 'You can see many items were altered, neglected, or added to the edited photo. The issue is not AI or Photoshop, it's the lack of a careful review of content being published on the profile.' Six people were charged in the drug bust, WMTW reported, as authorities seized 61 grams of fentanyl and 23 grams of methamphetamine. Westbrook is a western suburb of Portland, the most populous city in Maine.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Reporter who saw teen before 1984 murder reacts to arrest in case
After Maine police announced an arrest in the cold case murder of a teenage girl in 1984, a former reporter who saw the victim shortly before she died is speaking out. Linda Maxwell, 18, was last seen on Aug. 23, 1984, the Maine State Police said in a statement. She had spent the evening with friends. Two days later, her body was found on the shoreline of Maine's St. Croix River in Robbinston, Washington County. The case was investigated but remained unsolved for decades, police said. On May 1, the Maine State Police announced that they had arrested Raymond Brown, 65. He was indicted by a grand jury and arrested after a traffic stop in Bangor, Maine. He has been charged with murder and will be held without bail in the Washington County Jail, police said. Police said an "intensive and expanded investigation" led to Brown's arrest, but did not offer any details. Linda Maxwell. / Credit: Maine State Police Former reporter Heather Henry-Tenan, one of the last people to see and speak with Maxwell, said the case "made an impression" on her. Henry-Tenan was among the group Maxwell had spent time before her disappearance, CBS affiiate WGME reported in 2015, during their own investigation into the cold case. Henry-Tenan previously told WGME about how she learned the teen was missing. "I woke up the next morning and a friend of mine had called and said 'Linda's missing.' I said 'Wow, what happened?' They said 'We don't know,'" Maxwell said in 2015. Every August for 21 years, she wrote a news story about Maxwell. "The whole town was on the edge waiting for it to be solved, so I wrote the story for 21 years. She made an impression on me, and we were almost the same age, so that really hit home, right. That could have been me," Henry-Tenan told WGME on Tuesday. The rise of "Barstool Conservatism" Student loan borrower shares her story as collections resume for those in default Why Hegseth is calling for cuts to senior ranks across U.S. military
