Maine has rescinded a shelter-in-place order issued during the manhunt for fugitive gunman Robert Card, but with Card still at large, residents were warned to “remain vigilant.”
Maine State Police said Friday afternoon that the search for Card, an Army reservist and avid hunter, continued, focusing on a portion of the Androscoggin River on Friday.
He is accused of fatally shooting 18 people at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday evening. All 18 were named by police on Friday evening.
The shelter-in-place order that applied to Lewiston; Bowdoin, where Card, his parents and brother live; and Lisbon, where his car was left, has been lifted.
But hunting in the area remains prohibited.
“Businesses can choose to open or remain closed,” said Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety, adding that locals must “stay vigilant.”
“Are we doing more harm than good by keeping people away from their doctors, their clinics, their schools? But we have to ask the people we serve what they want.
‘We don’t just make decisions to get in order or get out of it lightly. But we do appreciate all input, in terms of: what does it mean, what impact does it have on me.’
Police say about 500 tips have been received so far, but Card’s whereabouts are unknown.
His car was found abandoned in the city of Lisbon on Wednesday evening, less than two hours after he started his rampage.
When asked if he had been seen since leaving the scene of the latest shooting at 8 p.m. Wednesday, a Maine State Police spokesperson said, “We have not seen him. The police haven’t seen him for the past two days.’
Card, described as 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, was last seen wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt and brown cargo pants.
Police searched the homes of Card’s parents and brother on Thursday evening, at one point shouting through a megaphone: “Come out with your hands up, you’re under arrest.”
But on Friday they confirmed that Card was not there.