by Guy Page

State police reported finding three dead adult males on Tuesday, October 7. The locations were far apart from each other and the circumstances surrounding the deaths – driving a scooter on the Rail Trail, kayaking on a reservoir, and fleeing into the woods following a domestic assault – are unconnected.

Body found next to scooter off Rail Trail in Enosburg

The Vermont State Police are investigating the death of a man found early Tuesday morning along the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail near White Road in Enosburg.

Troopers were called to the area at about 7:32 AM after receiving a report of a deceased individual off the north side of the trail. When they arrived, they discovered the man and an electric scooter — identified as a Cleytro Eclectic Scooter — down an embankment.

Police said the victim’s identity remains unknown at this time. His body has been transported to the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death and to aid in confirming his identity.

Initial investigation suggests the incident was isolated and is not considered suspicious. The scooter sustained only minor damage, and road and weather conditions at the time were clear and dry.

The Vermont State Police were assisted on scene by the Sheldon Fire Department and Enosburg Ambulance Service.

Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to contact the Vermont State Police St. Albans Barracks at 802-524-5993.

Body of domestic assault suspect found in woods nearby home

State Police reported Tuesday, Oct. 7, that search teams recovered human remains in the Rutland County town of Wallingford linked to a September domestic assault investigation.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Vermont State Police Search and Rescue Team located human remains in the woods near Nash Drive, close to the home of Rodney Davis, 62. Davis had been the subject of a two-week search after an alleged domestic assault on Sept. 19 that left a family or household member seriously injured.

At the time, investigators said Davis fled into nearby woods armed with a firearm and refused to surrender. Attempts to communicate with him ended when his cell phone battery died. He had not been seen since.

The remains were recovered Tuesday and transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to confirm identity and determine the cause and manner of death. State police said the investigation remains active and ongoing.

Body of missing boater recovered

Also Tuesday afternoon, state police confirmed that a kayaker discovered a body on Somerset Reservoir during the search for missing boater David Maynard, 74, of Wilmington, a town in western Windham County.

Maynard was last seen Sept. 30 after launching his boat on the reservoir. His vehicle and empty trailer were found at the boat launch, prompting a weeklong search involving state police, local fire departments, Fish and Game wardens, U.S. Forest Service personnel, and underwater recovery teams from Vermont, New York and Massachusetts.

Authorities said the body recovered Tuesday was identified as Maynard. His remains will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, though police said the death does not appear suspicious.