As the search for fugitive Robert Burton neared the one-month mark, signs went up in towns surrounding the Parkman area in Piscatiquis and Somerset counties Wednesday to warn vacationers.
Five electronic signs were put up Wednesday afternoon on five roads leading to the search area, including in Athens, 20 miles to the south of Parkman on Route 150, because vacationers coming to the area for the Fourth of July weekend may not be aware of the search for Burton, who police consider armed and dangerous.
Burton, who has been sought since June 5, is facing a murder charge in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Stephanie Gebo, 37, whose body was found that day at her Parkman home.
The search has concentrated in the Guilford area, six miles from Parkman in Piscataquis County.
“Manhunt” signs were installed by crews from the Maine Department of Transportation in Newport, Charleston, Milo and Monson, the major roads that lead into the Parkman-Guilford area.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said the signs are aimed at warning vacationers to the area of the manhunt.
“Those message board signs are primarily geared toward vacationers who may be on their way to that section of Maine for the holiday weekend and may be completely unaware of what’s been going on for the last month,” McCausland said in an interview Wednesday.
Area residents are asked to report immediately any suspicious activity. Search efforts to find Burton will continue by state police, the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine Warden Service, according to a news release from McCausland.
The phone numbers to call are the state police in Bangor at 973-3700 or 911.
State Police will hold a news conference Thursday afternoon on the search efforts.
The chief of the State Police, Col. Robert Williams, will update reporters in the parking lot of Guilford Town Hall at 1 p.m.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter: @Doug_Harlow
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