The Murder of Maine Guide Wesley Porter - Webster Lake, ME, June 3 1943
ARTICLE CORRECTION: Wesley Porter and his wife Eva had 8 children, one son was serving overseas in the U.S. Military during WWII at the time of Wesley's death.
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The following article was written by Mark Nickerson, a retired Maine State Police Trooper. The 28-year veteran lives in Unity, ME. Mark is an award-winning columnist and former contributor of "Real Life Stories of a Maine State Trooper" to the Republican Journal in Knox County, and is the author of "Blue Lights in the Night".
Mark noted that much of the article was written from notebooks provided by Trooper Merle Cole, who investigated the murder of Wesley Porter, and from case notes provided by Nickerson's father, the late Captain Millard E. "Nick" Nickerson, who retired in 1972 from his position as Director of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations of the Maine State Police. ___________________________________________________________________ Real Life Stories of a Maine State Trooper:
Maine's Then-biggest manhunt By Mark Nickerson Sept 15, 2009 This particular story was interesting for a number of reasons. First, I learned this manhunt took longer than nine weeks and included every law enforcement agency in the state, as well as professional guides and many civilians. Even out-of-state law enforcement personnel got involved. At the time, it was the largest manhunt in Maine's history. This manhunt occurred in lower Aroostook and upper Piscataquis counties. Many troopers who took part were original troopers from when the Maine State Police formed in 1925. One of them, Lt. Merle Cole, was my neighbor where I grew up in Vassalboro. Following is a synopsis of the "Wesley Morton Porter Murder Case." May 31, 1943, Wesley M. Porter, 46, met three men who had booked him to guide them during a week's fishing trip. They met him in Sherman, took a taxi to Grand Lake Matagamon Dam, and the following day went by boat to Second Lake of Matagamon. They left surplus supplies at a lumber office and packed into a camp on Webster Lake. The sportsmen were William Buchanan, 52, Robert Hames, 40, and Robert Jarvis, 26, all of Massachusetts.They spent the second day at camp getting everything ready and fishing in the vicinity. Early the following day, Thursday, June 3, Porter went to Second Lake to pick up surplus supplies and the party of men fished at Coffelos Pond. Porter returned about 5:30 p.m. and while he was preparing supper, he inquired if the party had fished at the dam. When they replied they hadn't, Porter remarked that someone had been around that area. After supper, Porter busied himself with cleaning up, and Jarvis went on a precipitous ledge in front of the camp to watch for minnow for trout bait while the two older members of the party watched Jarvis. A scratching sound was heard behind the camp and Buchanan and Hames, both armed with .22 revolvers, circled in opposite directions, hoping to get a shot at what they believed to be a porcupine. Suddenly, the stillness of the evening was shattered by a gunshot, followed a short time later by a second shot. Buchanan and Hames went back toward the front of the camp and Jarvis huddled under the ledge.Buchanan came around the camp and there on the ground was their guide, his head covered with blood, and he was rolling back and forth. "My God, Wes, what have you done?" Buchanan asked. A third shot sounded and Buchanan and Hames thought Porter had been shot by a "set" gun. (Definition of set gun: a firearm set as a trap to fire on an intruder or on game when a wire attached to its trigger is disturbed.) While Hames and Jarvis provided first aid to the victim, Buchanan used the camp phone to call the caretaker at Telos Dam, who relayed the call to Greenville. Dr. J.F. Pritham, who was also the county medical examiner, arrived at dark by plane and found the patient mortally wounded — Porter died shortly after midnight, on June 4, 1943. ..Story is continued in MANHUNT |