The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office in Maine is warning people about an alarming incident over the weekend that sent a 45-year-old Phippsburg man to the hospital.
Around 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, the man was driving on Berrys Mills Rd in West Bath when he saw a woman trying to wave someone down for help.
The man stopped and offered assistance.
However, as the woman led the man behind a dark SUV, three men jumped out and badly beat the man, knocking him unconscious and significantly injuring his face.
They robbed him then put him in the back of his own pickup truck which they drove approximately fifteen minutes away to Gilman Way in Phippsburg.
That’s where the man regained consciousness, began calling for help and someone living nearby notified police what happened.
However, the sheriff’s office says that a search with dogs, through the woods in the direction of where the suspects went brought them in a loop to Gilman Way, which suggest the men were picked up by someone else.
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“It’s jarring because, naturally, I’d want to stop and help someone,” said Natasha Freeman, a Phippsburg mother who has a six and eight year-old.
Freeman noted that Mainers are known for assisting each other when they are stranded on motorways, but the incident may cause a number of people to think twice.
“We should be able to want to help people, want to stop,” she said, adding that “it’s not going to stop me from trying but it raises, extra concern, extra being wary.”
Sagadahoc County sheriff’s deputies also say a similar incident was reported to Brunswick Police around 11:15 p.m. on Saturday, with a woman waving down a driver a Route One near Cooks Corner.
However, that driver was a security officer in uniform, and when he approached the woman, she said she no longer needed help.
Police say it is possible that person was connected to the West Bath incident and that seeing the uniformed officer scared them away.
The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office is now asking anyone with information about the attack or other incidents to contact deputies.