The Maine mass shooter killed himself eight to 12 hours before his body was found, official documents have revealed.
Army Reservist Robert Card, 40, was found dead two days after opening fire in a bowling alley and bar on October 25.
Officers found his body with a gunshot wound to the head near one Maine Recycling Corporation plant where he was recently laid off. HThis death was ruled a suicide.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said in a statement: “The postmortem interval, based on rigor mortis and other physical signs, indicates that Mr. Card was likely deceased 8 to 12 hours before he was located.”
Officials confirmed that his autopsy report will not be released “without consent of next of kin and it may take several months before the report is available as additional investigations are conducted.”
Robert Card, 40, a suspect in the Maine mass shooting, committed suicide eight to 12 hours before his body was found
Card killed 18 people in the massacre (pictured), in what has become the deadliest mass shooting of 2023
Officials confirmed that his autopsy report will not be released “without consent of next of kin and it may take several months before the report is available due to additional investigations being conducted”
His body was located just a short walk from where his vehicle was first found, about four hours after the shooting erupted on Oct. 27.
Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck revealed during a morning news conference that the two-day manhunt searched the plant twice and that officials returned to the area only at the direction of the plant manager.
He said the location where the body was found was in a crowded parking lot with about 60 trailers, which officials did not know existed.
“No one had any idea there was an overcrowded parking lot across the street,” he said.
Sauschuck revealed that Card’s body was found next to two firearms and appeared to be wearing the “same sweatshirt” he was seen wearing on surveillance footage when the shooting occurred.
His last movements may have taken him along a remote, disused railway line that led directly to his abandoned vehicle and to the recycling plant where his body was found.
Although police were closely guarding the entrance to the trail at the time the body was found, DailyMail.com was able to walk the route.
The walking trail, which runs southeast along the bank of the Androscoggin River, is a direct path from where his vehicle was found near a boat dock to the large industrial complex where the recycling plant is located.
The path runs next to the disused railway line.
Card’s body was discovered by a Maine Recycling Corporation plant where he was recently fired, just a short walk from where the killer’s vehicle was first found, about four hours after the shooting broke out.
An officer stationed within the perimeter of the recycling complex told DailyMail.com that the path may have been Card’s “last footsteps.” The officer pointed to the parking lot where the body was found.
The secluded path is well hidden from the nearby main road, Lisbon Street. There are several points that lead directly to the location where the recycling plant is located.
At one point the trail leads to a parking lot where a torn piece of police tape remained Saturday morning.
As the manhunt was underway, a search of a property associated with Card led investigators to find a suicide note inside.
Sauschuck said the note was not “explicitly” a suicide note, but that the “tone” of the letter was intended to be read after he was already dead.
He added that it included aspects common in suicide notes, including how to access Card’s bank account and phone.
The location where the body was found was in a crowded parking lot with about 60 trailers, which officials did not know existed.
News of Card’s death was met with great relief after the search ended, lifting several shelter-in-place orders for terrified local residents.
The White House released a statement saying that the two days between the Oct. 25 shooting and the discovery of Card’s body had been “tragic” for the entire country.
“This has been a tragic two days – not just for Lewiston, Maine, but for our entire country,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
“Once again, an American community and American families have been devastated by gun violence.
“In total, at least eighteen souls have been brutally killed, more injured, some seriously, and dozens of relatives and friends praying and experiencing traumas no one ever wants to imagine.
“Numerous brave law enforcement officers worked around the clock to find this suspect and prevent the loss of more innocent lives – all while risking their own lives. They are the best of us.
“Tonight we are grateful that Lewiston and surrounding communities are safe after excruciating days of sheltering in their homes.
Card, who reportedly has ties to Massachusetts, struggled with mental health issues and reportedly heard “voices” and threatened to shoot up a military training base
“I thank Governor Janet Mills for her steady leadership during this time of crisis, and continue to charge my administration to provide whatever is needed to support the people of Maine.
“Americans shouldn’t have to live like this. I once again call on Republicans in Congress to fulfill their duty to protect the American people. Until that day, I will continue to do everything in my power to end this epidemic of gun violence.
“The Lewiston community – and all Americans – deserve nothing less.”
Card was from Bowdoin, Maine — a town of just over 3,000 residents — and a “highly skilled” Army “petroleum supply specialist” who enlisted in December 2002. He had no combat missions.
He was a sergeant 1st class and received the Army Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and two Army Reserve Component Achievement medals.
Card, who reportedly has ties to Massachusetts, struggled with mental health issues and reportedly heard “voices” and threatened to shoot up a military training base.
His X account, now suspended, revealed that he followed and liked posts from several prominent conservative pundits, including Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson and Dinesh D’Souza
This year he was admitted to a mental health institution for two weeks.