FREEPORT — Police are unsure what led a 13-year-old boy to walk along Interstate 295 Monday morning, but said he will be evaluated to determine if a medical condition was involved.
The Yarmouth teenager, dressed only in black wind pants and a maroon NASCAR bathrobe, was
picked up by a motorist traveling north on I-295 at the Cumberland-Yarmouth town line and brought to the
Freeport police a little after 8 a.m. Monday morning. Police said the boy claimed to be from Boston and said his name was Nick. He said he could not remember his last name
or his date of birth, but that he had been walking since daybreak.
By Monday afternoon it was determined that the boy was in fact a Yarmouth resident and his name was not Nick. The story he told the police was false.
Freeport school resource officer Mike McManus said there were
professionals working with the boy to determine the cause of his
actions.
“We don’t believe it was a joke,” he said. “We need answers
from professionals. It could be the truth that he lost his
memory.”
McManus said in the 11 years he has worked with children
as a school resource officer, this is the first time he has seen a case
like this.
After the motorist brought the boy to the Freeport Police Department, he was evaluated by Freeport emergency medical services.
Freeport Police Chief Gerald Schofield said the boy was cooperative and quiet, and spoke only when spoken to, in brief sentences. He said the boy did not look scared, but was confused.
He was taken to Maine Medical Center and later to the Department of Heath and Human Services in Portland. The agency was able to determine his identity and contacted his mother.
“The boy did nothing against the law, and there are no charges pending,” McManus said. “We don’t think this was a joke, and we are glad he got his memory back.”
Freeport Police Chief Gerald Schofield said the boy’s actions “tied up a lot of people’s time and resources,” but that the situation could have been worse.
“There are so many stories of children that end in tragedy, this is actually a good ending,” he said.
McManus also said he considers the story to have a happy ending.
“The boy was reunited with his family, and is safe,” he said.
Amy Anderson can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 110 or aanderson@theforecaster.net.
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