STOCKTON SPRINGS, Maine — Several inches of new snow on Monday were not helpful to volunteers and family members searching for the Maine Maritime Academy student who went missing late last month in Orono.
Search and rescue volunteers from Orono-based Down East Emergency Medicine Institute and members of 21-year-old David “DJ” Breunig’s family who converged on Stockton Springs over the weekend were back at it on Monday, said DEEMI director Richard Bowie.
As was the case on Saturday and Sunday, Monday’s effort took place in the afternoon, when low tide was occurring and more of the shoreline could be seen, Bowie said. He said the group planned to be out until dark but were withdrawn after a few hours because the search area was hit with 10 inches of snow.
Their focus was on a span of the Penobscot River running from roughly Fort Point State Park and Devereaux Cove, both in Stockton Springs, where two more objects of interest were spotted late Sunday afternoon, said Bowie.
On Tuesday, searchers will explore farther south, from Grants Cove in Stockton Springs to Moose Point State Park in Searsport, he said. Tuesday’s search party likely will include a dog team trained in cadaver searches, as well as members of Breunig’s family.
Breunig last was seen leaving a party on Crosby Street in Orono around 11:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26. His phone last pinged a local cellphone tower at 12:05 a.m. Feb. 27, officials have said. He was last seen walking toward the train tracks near a railroad bridge that crosses the Stillwater River.
Earlier this month, divers searched the Penobscot River near where it connects with the Stillwater based on the possibility Breunig fell from the railroad bridge. He was last seen in that area. Previous ground, boat and aerial searches have focused along stretches of both rivers with no sign of him.