UPDATED: Police Capture New Hampshire Man After Approximately 24 Hours of Pursuit
Capture occurred after civilian sighting
BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Community can breathe a bit more easily today because at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, the Bar Harbor Police Department caught a New Hampshire man who had been eluding the police for about 24 hours.
According to a release put out by the Bar Harbor Police Department,
”On 6/29/2023, at approximately 1427 hours, Jereme Gee, age 40, of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire was arrested following yesterday’s incident in Bar Harbor. Gee was detained peacefully and without incident on State Highway 3 in Bar Harbor in the area of Hulls Cove. He was provided medical attention and then transported to the Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth.”
The capture occurred after Shaun Farrar, a Bar Harbor Story reporter, spotted the suspect, Jereme Gee, walking on Route 3 in Hulls Cove and called Captain David Kerns to tell him where he’d seen Gee. Gee was apprehended between Salt Cottages and R.L. White on Route 3, which is close to Cover Farm Road.
“He was walking down the road, right by Frasier Lane,” Farrar said. “He had his head down and he wasn’t even paying attention to traffic. So I pulled into R.L. White and called Kerns and told him to come from the north.”
The officers were positioned at the north. Multiple park rangers drove by, Farrar said, and Gee did not flinch. Gee quickly went to his knee when arrested.
The day before Gee’s capture, the Bar Harbor Police Department had released a statement about an ongoing search for a New Hampshire man who fled from police after they initially located him at the Best Western Hotel on Wednesday afternoon.
He spent the next twenty-four hours in a heavily wooded area and was occasionally spotted by citizens and law enforcement before his eventual capture Thursday afternoon.
“On 6/28/2023, at 1305 hours, we received a report from the Wolfeboro Police Department in New Hampshire that there was a male subject operating a stolen vehicle traveling in the direction of Bar Harbor on State Highway 3. Several marked police units responded to the area of State Highway 3 to search for the vehicle. Shortly after police arrived in the area, we received another call back from the Wolfeboro Police Department stating the male subject called them and stated he was at a local hotel in the lobby.
“Officers responded to the area and located the suspect and the stolen vehicle. As officers arrived on scene, the subject fled the area on foot into the woods. K9 units tracked Gee for several miles through the woods but were unable to apprehend him. The suspect was identified as Jereme Gee, age 40, of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Gee is a white male approximately 6 feet tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds. He has hazel eyes and brown hair and was last seen wearing jeans, a ball cap, sneakers and not wearing a shirt. Gee was last seen in the area of Crooked Road and Old Norway Drive. A warrant for Gee’s arrest has been issued by the Wolfeboro Police Department for the following charges, unauthorized use of a vehicle, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, driving after suspension and breach of bail conditions.
“If you see a subject matching this description do not approach him and call 911 immediately.” - Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Police Departments
That evening officers went to area residents to inform them of the situation. At approximately 8: 15 p.m., according to scanner traffic, he was seen running across Route 3 and toward Norway Drive. He was not located that night.
The video below is courtesy of the Bond family who were driving by. The photo and video are by their ten-year-old daughter, Ruby.
The police spent countless hours trying to locate and apprehend Mr. Gee and spent additional time alerting residents of the situation Wednesday night.
THURSDAY EVENTS
On Thursday afternoon, just around 1 p.m., according to scanner traffic, Gee was spotted walking down Route 3. According to the traffic, an officer had eyes on him before he went into into the woods near the Bar Harbor Campgrounds. The campground is on Route 3 near Mainely Meats and across from Pirate’s Cove. It is close to the Best Western.
According to scanner traffic, officers then met at the Pot and Kettle Club to try to determine a plan to approach Gee without spooking him and causing him to run again.
At 1:20 p.m., Farrar, spotted Gee across from Hinckley Dreamwood Cottages on Route 3 while Farrar was headed to a client’s house. Gee dived into the woods. Farrar called the police to let them know. That traffic was communicated on the radio. At the time, Gee was wearing a red shirt again, had a small backpack, and a straw hat.
At approximately 2 p.m., scanner traffic indicated that Hancock County Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Frost and his K9 were returning to the island to attempt to track Gee down again.
At 2:26 when he was driving back from a client’s house, Farrar spotted Gee again in front of Salt Cottages in Hull’s Cove on Route 3. Gee was limping.
FROM OUR EARLIER ARTICLE:
According to scanner traffic, Bar Harbor police officers and other law enforcement agencies responded to the Best Western this afternoon for an unknown complaint. An unknown male subject described as white, approximately 6-2, and wearing a red t-shirt fled from the initial responding officer and into the woods.
The initial scanner traffic indicated that the suspect was using a phone inside the Best Western hotel and calling the Wolfeboro, New Hampshire police department and was potentially allegedly inebriated.
At around 2:15 p.m., he was next sighted by an off-duty dispatcher near the Smith Family Farm Road on the Crooked Road and Fraser Lane. She reported seeing him taking off his shirt. Another foot pursuit occurred and the suspect was lost in the woods, believed to be headed toward Norway Drive and Route 3.
Hancock County’s K9 officer assisted in the search.
Around 2:45 p.m. the man was seen by a motorist and reported to have crossed the road and headed toward Lakewood, which is part of Acadia National Park. Acadia rangers also participated in the search and, according to scanner traffic, moved along a couple and their young children from the area.
He is now described as shirtless, wearing long pants and a ball cap.
At approximately 4:38, a public works employee reported spotting the man off Old Norway Drive .
This is a breaking news story and we’ll be updating with more information as we learn it.
Shaun Farrar is a reporter for this news blog. He used to work for the Bar Harbor Police Department. Carrie Jones also was once a part-time dispatcher for the Mount Desert Police Department.
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