Debris and a damaged guardrail Wednesday morning on Broad Street in Auburn show where police suspect Mark Conley’s vehicle left the road sometime last week. They found the SUV the Naples man was driving submerged in the water a short distance away. State law enforcement officials continued the search Thursday for Conley, whose family said he did not show up for a Christmas celebration. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
AUBURN — Nearly two weeks after he went missing, and three days since his car was found in the Little Androscoggin River, Mark Conley remained among the missing Thursday.
“As of this morning, the search for Mr. Conley in and around the Little Androscoggin River in Auburn has been exhausted,” Capt. Donald Foss of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department said. “The missing person investigation will continue until Mr. Conley is found, however, all water-focused searching has concluded.”
For three days, police from several agencies have searched the riverbanks in the area off Broad Street where Conley’s SUV was found submerged Monday. Divers have searched the depths of the river, and pleas have been put out to the public for information about Conley.
“This investigation remains committed to exploring all possibilities and circumstances involving the disappearance of Mr. Conley,” Foss wrote, in a news release Thursday afternoon. “To that end, we will continue to work with the Auburn Police Department and the Maine State Police until this matter is resolved. We remain in close contact with Mr. Conley’s family and continue to support them in their time of uncertainty and sadness.”
Conley’s family reported him missing when he failed to show up at a Christmas gathering, police said. He was reported to have been last seen Christmas Eve in the Lewiston area.
Conley’s Jeep Patriot was discovered in the river by two Maine State Police detectives Monday afternoon while on their way to interview those close to Conley in Lewiston. They noticed a dented guardrail on Broad Street and turned around to investigate, police said.
The detectives found debris from the vehicle and, after launching a surveillance drone, discovered the wreckage in the water. It was pulled from the water and law enforcement found the driver’s side window was smashed, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call their local police department.
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