With afternoon temperatures climbing to over 90 degrees July 12, a pair of concerned residents called Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputies to check on an elderly woman living in a tiny cabin at the Pine Crest Motor Court in Edgecomb.
When deputies arrived, they found an 85-year-old Los Angeles woman, left alone for several days in the sweltering cabin with almost no food.
Jerry Pike, manager of Pine Crest Motor Court, and one of the residents who called the sheriff’s office, said the woman appeared to have been living on fast food and oranges.
“I can’t imagine a gerbil being left alone in that cabin, much less an old lady,” Pike said July 18.
The woman’s name has not been released, but authorities said she was brought to Miles Memorial Hospital and is in good condition.
“She was actually in pretty good shape,” said LCSO Det. Robert McFetridge. “She could sit up; she was talking.”
Also July 12, as a result of finding the woman, LCSO arrested three people for felony endangering the welfare of a dependent person.
A pair of 41-year-old twins, Barbara and Nicholas Davis, and a 20-year-old man named Jonathon Stevens, whom the Davis’s call their godson, is believed to have taken the elderly woman from Los Angeles in 2009 and drove her around the country, according to an LCSO press release. She told deputies they had been in Maine for over a year, moving from place to place.
According to the LCSO, the woman has no known friends or family. The suspects allegedly kept her isolated from contact with other people and controlled all of her finances, according to the press release.
Pike said the suspects arrived at the motel on July 1 and inquired about a discounted rate for a long-term stay through October.
“They wanted a deal for the season and told me their middle-aged mother was an artist who needed peace and quiet away from her children,” Pike said. “I was given a deposit, and I told them specifically that they couldn’t move in until I had all the money.”
Pike said the trio contacted him a few days later stating they were having trouble “coming up with the money” because of problems cashing a social security check.
“I became suspicious because they seemed like they had money. They drove what looked like a $50,000 truck and wore expensive clothes,” Pike said. “They talked like educated people.”
Pike said his suspicion peaked when the suspects said they were only able to access $100 a day despite traveling in what he described as lavish style.
Pike said he pressured the suspects to complete the arrangement because he was holding a cabin for the presumed rental during an extremely busy time of the season. One night, the suspects appeared at the motel office while Pike was sleeping and gave him a roll of $20 bills. Satisfied but startled, Pike put the matter aside.
Despite the suspects’ specific instructions not to bother the elderly woman, Pike checked on the cabin periodically by knocking gently to see if anyone was inside. Eventually the lack of a response became impossible to ignore, and he called a neighbor to check on the welfare of the woman. The pair called the sheriff’s office and requested the welfare check that led to the woman’s rescue.
“I want to keep this a peaceful place,” Pike said. “I try to keep out people drinking fifths of vodka and doing heroin – the bad elements. These people did not look the part. How are you supposed to know what a criminal looks like these days?”
The suspects were released on $10,000 unsecured bail. They are scheduled to appear in court Sept. 29.
Anyone with information should contact Det. Robert McFetridge with the LCSO at 882-7332.
