BANGOR, Maine — The investigation into the death of an Alfred woman has been referred to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, her sister said Sunday.
The remains of 52-year-old Judith Therianos were found Thursday night near U.S. Highway 19 in Port Richey, Florida, Jennifer Scammon of Saco said Sunday in a telephone interview.
Family members were notified the following day and have yet to learn the cause and manner of Theriano’s death, which remains under investigation by the county’s medical examiner’s office, she said.
“The major crimes unit is investigating and that typically means that they suspect foul play,” Scammon said.
Therianos had been in Florida visiting friends since Feb. 15, according to her close friend Glenda Cook of Shapleigh.
Therianos, who had gone to Florida to care for a sick friend, last was seen picking up her clothes from a friend with whom she was staying, Cook said late last month.
Family and friends created a Facebook page in an effort to get the word out. They reached out to people they knew in Florida and asked them to keep an eye out for Therianos.
They also enlisted the assistance of Down East Emergency Medicine Institute, a volunteer search and rescue group based in Orono.
Richard Bowie, DEEMI’s director of operations, said last month that DEEMI developed a network of contacts and volunteers while participating in the effort to find two Florida teens whose boat capsized off the Florida coast in July of last year.
On Thursday, Bowie said that a scent-specific dog team is on standby and that a scent article was being shipped to Florida in the event there was another sighting.
Cook said last month that it was highly unusual for Therianos not to maintain contact with family and friends in Maine, including her three children.
Also troublesome is that her family was told that Therianos had a black eye and was said to be in the company of an older man named Charlie when she last was seen.
On Sunday, Scammon issued the following statement on behalf of the family:
“We would like to thank everyone that helped in the search for Judi. From those that walked the streets passing out fliers, to the DEEMI volunteer search team, to the media for assisting us in getting her story out. The outpouring of love and support from friends, neighbors, and even those that never knew Judi has been over-whelming,” it said.
“DEEMI was a godsend. I can even begin to thank them for what I feel they’ve done for my family and help me, personally, walk through this process and for the team on the ground [that the organization has] in Florida,” Scammon said Sunday in an interview.
“They followed up on absolutely everything. I went to bed every night knowing that someone else is out there helping me with this,” she said, adding, that the distance between Maine and Florida “has been very difficult” for her family.
The statement continued:
“Judi was an amazing woman with a heart of gold. She loved assisting those that needed a helping hand. She and we, her loving family, now need your help in finding out what happened to our Mother, Sister, Daughter, and Friend. If you have any information that may assist in the investigation, please call Det. Gasparino at (727) 847-5878.”
Scammon said that Therianos leaves behind an adult son, two teenage daughters and two grandchildren.
Scammon said that it was not yet clear when the family could begin making funeral arrangements.
“We need to wait for the body to be released by the medical examiner’s office,” she said. “This is a major crimes unit investigation and until they’re done with forensics, we can’t get her back up here.”