Essex County

CONCORD — Police have opened an investigation after a body was found along a wooded area in Concord.

On Sunday, at around 11:30 a.m., police responded to a report of a dead body at 1549 Victory Road.

The body was discovered by a property owner, who spotted the body along the wooded edge of his driveway.

Investigators arrived to process the scene and identified the body as a white male.

The body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, where an autopsy will take place today to make a positive identification and determine the cause and manner of death.

Detectives say this is being considered a suspicious death.

They have been working through the night and will continue conducting numerous interviews in the Caledonia and Essex county areas.

“Preliminary investigation has revealed that this is an isolated incident and that there is no apparent danger to the public,” a statement issued by police reads.

GUILDHALL — Essex County State’s Attorney Vince Illuzzi, Vermont Legal Aid, and the Caledonia-Essex County Bar Association are inviting community members who have been charged or convicted of misdemeanor marijuana offenses, and other qualifying offenses, to two expungement days.

The first will take place Saturday, August 11, and another on Saturday, August 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p. m. at the Essex County Court House, in Guildhall

Effective July 1, Vermont law changed to allow for personal possession of small amounts of marijuana by persons aged 21 and over.

In recognition of this statutory change and shifting attitudes toward marijuana, as well as the desire to assist in clearing all qualifying offenses from citizens’ records, Illuzzi has agreed to stipulate to the expungement of qualifying convictions that occurred in Essex County.

Qualifying offenses are defined by Vermont law at Chapter 230 of Title 13.

It includes most misdemeanors and some non-violent felonies.

During each of the two scheduled expungement days, volunteers will provide necessary legal advice and assistance to petitioners to prepare their expungement petitions.

Illuzzi says he will review and sign off on requests for expungement if the conviction qualifies under the law.

“The criminal justice system often forces individuals to help themselves, and address issues such as substance abuse,” said Illuzzi. “If the system has worked and individuals have stayed out of trouble for five or ten years, depending on the history, then those individuals should be encouraged to take advantage of Vermont law that allows those convictions to be erased from their records.”

Illuzzi says that every petition will be carefully reviewed and given careful consideration.

“I want to ensure that those convicted in Essex County are given the same opportunities that have been and are being made available to those convicted of qualifying offenses in other counties.”

Individuals seeking to participate in the Essex County expungement days should bring valid, government-issued photo identification, though participants who cannot obtain an identification by this time will not necessarily be prevented from participating.

Additionally, those seeking to participate should bring records or information about their convictions, if possible.

However, volunteers will have the ability to look up the offense, based on name and date of birth.

The cost of petitioning for expungement is $90 per docket—checks or money orders can be made out to the Vermont Superior Court.

Some individuals may qualify for a fee waiver.

Those who have lower incomes can petition to have the filing fee waived.

If an individual cannot attend either day and would like advice or assistance about clearing their qualifying offenses, they can contact attorneys at Vermont Legal Aid by calling 1-800-889-2047, or by filling out an online intake at https://vtlawhelp.org/vlh-intake.

BRIGHTON — A 19-year-old woman was injured in a single-vehicle car crash in Warren’s Gore on Friday.

At around 6:15 p.m. police responded to the crash scene located on VT Route 114.

The driver was identified as Tesia Cleveland, of Beecher Falls.

Police say Cleveland was attempting to avoid a moose, which forced her to drive off the road.

She sustained injuries as a result of the crash and was transported to North Country Hospital.

Brighton Fire Department was dispatched to the scene to assist.

At this time police have no information about Cleveland’s injuries.

LUNENBURG — The body of a 15-year-old boy from Lunenberg who disappeared while swimming in the Connecticut River was located today.

Authorities say the boy disappeared on Monday while swimming below the Bridge Street bridge around 5:30 p.m.

He was last seen swimming with his two sisters and some friends when he disappeared after struggling in the strong current.

A witness who heard cries for help managed to pull one of the swimmers to safety.

Rescue boats were launched and search equipment was deployed in the area to try and locate the missing teen.

Vermont State Police provided a side-scan sonar and the N.H. Fish and Game Department Dive Team deployed an underwater swimming camera in an initial attempt to locate the boy. Divers began a systematic search of the area.

The boy’s body was found shortly before 2 p.m. on Tuesday, near where he was last seen.

The missing teen’s name has not been released pending notification of family, but authorities did confirm that the boy is from Lunenburg, Vermont.

LEMINGTON – A man crashed his Jeep into the Connecticut River in Lemington early Saturday morning.

Police responded to the single-vehicle crash on RT 102 at approximately 12:07 a.m.

They identified the driver as Cody Perrault, 25, from Guildhall.

According to police, Perrault failed to negotiate a corner causing his 2010 Jeep Wrangler to smash through the guardrail, careen down an embankment, and plunge into the river.

Police say Guildhall was not wearing his seatbelt and sustained minor injuries.

He was transported to Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook, New Hampshire.

The Jeep was totaled in the accident.

LEMINGTON — A fatal accident involving a tractor trailer took place in Essex County this afternoon.

Police say that at approximately 12:15 p.m. they were notified of the crash that took place on Vermont 102 in Lemington.

A preliminary investigation determined that the driver of the tractor trailer unit was traveling north, before entering a sharp corner and losing control of the vehicle.

The vehicle traveled across the southbound lane and left the west side of the roadway on its drivers side.  

It then struck a power pole before coming to rest.  

The single occupant was transported to Colebrook Hospital where he was pronounced dead.  

Canaan Police, Vermont Fish and Game, and the Essex County Sheriff Department all assisted at the scene.

Police say that the investigation is ongoing.

The driver’s name has not yet been released.

CANAAN — Two men were taken into custody by US Border Patrol and processed at the Canaan border patrol station over the weekend, after an ATV crash turned up that they were unable to provide documentation as to their status in the United States.

Authorities say that at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 4, they responded to an ATV rollover crash near the entrance to a campground at Coleman State Park, just across the Vermont border in New Hampshire.

The crash involved a rented ATV, operated by Daniel Aguirre Betancur, 21, who verbally provided officials with an address out of East Boston, Mass, however produced a driver’s license from the country of Colombia.

A passenger riding on the back of the ATV, identified himself as Jose Sanchez, 28, of Lynn, Mass, however he did not provide officers with any physical form of identification.

Betancur and Sanchez both received non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the rollover.

Agents from United States Border Patrol were notified of the situation, as the men were not citizens of the US, and neither was able to provide officers on scene with any documentation as to their status in the United States.

After interviewing the subjects and researching their information, both were taken into custody by US Border Patrol agents, and transported to the border station in Canaan for processing.

CAANAN — The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, in partnership with other conservation organizations, recently planted two thousand trees along the upper Connecticut River in Essex County in an effort to restore floodplain forests. The trees were planted on six acres of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s Johnson Farm Wildlife Management Area, along with adjacent privately-owned lands managed in partnership with the Vermont Land Trust.

In addition to tree species native to floodplain forests like silver maple, basswood and red maple, American elms that have been specifically bred to be resistant to Dutch elm disease were also planted. The Nature Conservancy bred the trees as part of a larger effort to restore American elms to floodplains throughout New England. American elms were the dominant tree in northern floodplain forests prior to Dutch elm disease.

“Restoring floodplain forests like these goes a long way towards cleaning up Vermont’s waterways,” said Jane Lazorchak, biologist for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. “These forests slow erosion along the river bank and they absorb large quantities of water during major rain events, lessening the potential impacts of floods to communities downstream.”

“Floodplain forests also serve as important travel corridors for all sorts of wildlife that are dependent on intact forests along rivers, including wood turtles, mink, and otter,” said Lazorchak. “The forests are also critical nesting habitat for to wood ducks.”

“This is another great example of Vermont’s conservation community working together to accomplish great things,” said Lazorchak. “There is a long list of lands conserved and species recovered thanks to the strong partnerships among Vermont’s government agencies and nonprofit organizations.”