Maine State Police Release Identities of Bodies Discovered During Tuesday Welfare Check

If you have lived in Maine for more than a few minutes, you know that when something feels off in a neighborhood, people check in on each other.

While we are not sure of what caused the concern, law enforcement who visited a home in Northern Maine to perform a welfare check made an unpleasant discovery.

According to a press release from the Maine Department of Public Safety, a Tuesday welfare check of a residence in the Aroostook County town of Wade resulted in the discovery of two bodies.

Just after 11 AM, Troopers and EMS crews were sent to a home on North Wade Road for a welfare check.  When they went inside the residence at 505 North Wade Road, they found a heartbreaking scene.  Both people who lived there had passed away.

The Office of State Fire Marshal was called in right away to help figure out what happened.

Investigators spent the afternoon looking through the home and the heating system, and they found something that raised serious concern.  The furnace exhaust pipe inside the house had not been installed the way it should have been.  At some point it came apart, which meant all of the exhaust was leaking straight into the living space instead of heading outside where it belonged.  Based on what they found, officials believe the two people inside likely died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The victims have been identified as sixty-four-year-old Brian Merchant and fifty-six-year-old Laurie Ridgway.  They lived together at the home and were well known in the small community around them.

Their bodies will be examined by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta to determine the official cause of death.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office is urging Mainers to double check their heating systems before the winter sets in, and to make sure every home has working carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms.  These devices save lives, and this tragedy is a difficult reminder of why they matter.

Officials say no additional information is being released for now.