The police in Maine are asking the public for help as they attempt to locate two parents and a child who went missing after a camping trip several weeks ago and haven't been heard from since.
The Sanford Police Department is looking for Jill Sidebotham, Nicholas Hansen, and their daughter Lydia Hansen, 2, who were reported missing on July 2.
The three told friends and family they were going camping, and they were expected to return home on June 3.
But friends and family said they had not heard from them after they were last seen by several members of the Sidebotham family on June 27, according to a pair of news releases shared on Facebook by the local police department.
Police said Jill, Lydia, and Nicholas were last seen at 4 p.m. on July 2 at the Walmart in Mexico, Maine.
They were last seen driving in a silver 2005 VW Jetta ME with the license plate number "1563VJ," officials said. The vehicle has a black rear bumper.
Jill's father, Ron Sidebotham, said Nicholas showed up at their Sanford home on June 27 and requested Jill and Lydia go camping with him. Nicholas is Jill's former boyfriend and they share the child together, according to the Boston Globe.
"My wife said she tried to stop her, but [Jill] said it would be fine," he told the newspaper in the interview.
Jill told her family she would return from the trip three days later and had plans to have her 10-year-old son stay with her for the weekend. But by July 2, she still had not been seen, which was extremely odd behavior for her.
"She worships [her son], and it's just not like her to not show up, especially without mentioning anything," he explained.
Police Lieutenant Matthew Gagne told the Globe that authorities collected cellphone data from phones belonging to Sidebotham and Hansen, but neither phone has connected with a signal since late June. Sidebotham’s cellphone was last active on June 28, and Hansen’s was most recently active on June 29.
Their last location was a Walmart in Mexico, Maine, on July 2, where they were seen on security video buying food,
“It’s more of a welfare check because it’s unusual that they haven’t reached out to family or friends, that we’re aware of,” Gagne said.
Gagne said the security footage shows Hansen and Sidebotham in a checkout lane with Lydia sitting in the seat of a shopping cart. Nothing in the video appeared concerning to the police.
"They were buying food items, and there did not appear to be anything nefarious or criminal," Gagne said. However, "we cannot verify their state without seeing them."
Police have confirmed that Jill, Lydia, and Nicholas were spotted at Coos Canyon Campground in Byron on June 29, three days before their last sighting, according to a news release shared by police on their Facebook page. The release included photos from the campground's security footage, which shows the three of them walking on the property.
Authorities released an update on Monday saying they are continuing to investigate the missing person case. They said they have been investigating tips and leads and continue to check areas where the three were reportedly seen.
Aircrafts with the Maine Warden Service have been checking the Rangeley and Mexico areas in search of the couple's vehicle and detectives traveled to Mexico to follow up with leads and to verify surveillance footage from the Walmart sighting, though there have been no other reports shared publicly.
