JusticeWillBeServed
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Ludger Belanger hasn't been seen since 1975. Although he remains missing, his case is classified as an unsolved homicide as investigators and his family believe he is a victim of foul play.
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Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: November 25, 1975 from Washington, Maine
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date of Birth: November 5, 1950
Age: 25 years old
Height and Weight: 5'8, 165 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair. Belanger's nicknames are Ludge and Ludgie.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A red and black checked hunting jacket, jeans or navy blue Dickie's pants, an orange hat and hunting boots.
Details of Disappearance
Belanger lived in Washington, Maine with his wife of four years and their three daughters at the time of his disappearance. At 9:00 a.m. on November 25, 1975, his wife and brother dropped him off half a mile from their home on Route 105 so he could go deer hunting. He was carrying a .30-30 rifle. He never returned and an extensive search turned up no sign of him or his rifle. Authorities determined Belanger had shot a deer and dragged it to the roadside, where he was picked up by a passing motorist. They identified two possible suspects in his disappearance; in their vehicle was a piece of buckshot with human hair and tissue attached. DNA testing wasn't available in 1975, so investigators weren't able to tie the buckshot to Belanger.
Belanger had a good home life and marriage at the time of his disappearance, and isn't believed to have left of his own accord. His wife thinks he was murdered, possibly over the deer he had shot. A suspect supposedly confessed to his killing in 1977, but the person's statement could not be verified. Belanger's family still hopes for answers in his disappearance and hope his body will be recovered. His case remains unsolved.
Hunters disappearance decades ago haunts family
Family anguish continues 40 years after Washington cold case homicide
Find a Grave
Doe Network
Charley Project
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: November 25, 1975 from Washington, Maine
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date of Birth: November 5, 1950
Age: 25 years old
Height and Weight: 5'8, 165 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair. Belanger's nicknames are Ludge and Ludgie.
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A red and black checked hunting jacket, jeans or navy blue Dickie's pants, an orange hat and hunting boots.
Details of Disappearance
Belanger lived in Washington, Maine with his wife of four years and their three daughters at the time of his disappearance. At 9:00 a.m. on November 25, 1975, his wife and brother dropped him off half a mile from their home on Route 105 so he could go deer hunting. He was carrying a .30-30 rifle. He never returned and an extensive search turned up no sign of him or his rifle. Authorities determined Belanger had shot a deer and dragged it to the roadside, where he was picked up by a passing motorist. They identified two possible suspects in his disappearance; in their vehicle was a piece of buckshot with human hair and tissue attached. DNA testing wasn't available in 1975, so investigators weren't able to tie the buckshot to Belanger.
Belanger had a good home life and marriage at the time of his disappearance, and isn't believed to have left of his own accord. His wife thinks he was murdered, possibly over the deer he had shot. A suspect supposedly confessed to his killing in 1977, but the person's statement could not be verified. Belanger's family still hopes for answers in his disappearance and hope his body will be recovered. His case remains unsolved.
Hunters disappearance decades ago haunts family
On June 20, 2001, a probate court judge in Knox County formally declared Belanger dead based on the due diligent search of family, the Maine Wardens Service and the Maine State Police, over a period of 26 years. The declaration was sought by his wife, who wanted to remarry.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Belangers disappearance that late November day. Authorities believe he died that day and have classified his death as an unsolved homicide. Belanger, known as Ludge or Ludgie to family and friends, was a heavy-equipment mechanic.
In searching for Belanger at the time, police found a receipt in the area where deer drag marks were found. Authorities later told the family they tracked the owner of the receipt, identified in a police report as Suspect A, a man from Camden.
He and another man, Suspect B, of Portland, told police they were hunting in the same area of Washington that day, but said they did not see a hunter dragging a deer along the road.
Thats where the trail gets murky. Investigators say theres a theory, some corroborating statements, but not enough evidence to charge anyone. Police say Suspect A, whom they do not name in the report, died less than a year after Belangers disappearance after he was injured in an explosion at his house.
Standing next to the gravestone in the rural Sand Hill Cemetery, Perkins said her first husbands story has no closure.
You read the book, you get to the last chapter, and it isnt there, she said.
She and family members went to the State House several months ago to support the plan to fund the dedicated cold case unit of the Maine State Police.
There are so many, she said of the unsolved cases. If they solve one, its worth it.
Family anguish continues 40 years after Washington cold case homicide
Three years later, police said a third man, Charles Christiensen Jr., told them he had been drinking with Suspect B, who said he had shot Belanger with a shotgun in the back seat of the car after a confrontation over the deer.
Suspect B said the pair had been doing drugs when they picked up Belanger, according to Christiensens account to police.
The police report does not indicate whether the man known as Suspect B was questioned again at that point. However, in early January 1985, during a meeting at the attorney generals office, the report states, It was decided that further investigation was necessary before the case could be presented to the Grand Jury.
Christiensen was dead by this time, and detectives began re-interviewing people and executed another search warrant on the same 1965 Buick Special. It was not clear where the car was at this point and why police waited another 10 years to search the car again. This time, police seized the two rear door panels, door and window handles and a speaker cover from the rear seat, but testing at the Maine State Police Crime Lab in Augusta did not find any presence of blood.
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