From the waters of the Kennebec River to homes linked to the suspected gunman, the search for Robert Card pressed on Thursday night.
Card, 40, has been the subject of a manhunt ever since Wednesday evening, when shots rang out at two locations in Lewiston, Maine. Eighteen people were killed and 13 were wounded.
A search of Card’s home turned up a note, NBC News reported, citing senior law enforcement officials.
The contents of the note were not released, but NBC reported that investigators are trying to determine what it means and how it could be used to find Card.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard is patrolling the Kennebec River, looking for a 15-foot boat belonging to Card that was unaccounted for. A vehicle Card owns was found in a nearby community by a dock, according to The Messenger.
Hours of searching so far have resulted in “nothing out of the ordinary,” Chief Petty Officer Ryan Smith said, according to The Washington Post.
On Thursday evening, FBI agents and other officers surrounded a home where several of Card’s relatives live in Bowdoin, the Post reported. The officers demanded entry into the home as a helicopter circled overhead.
As the search continued, survivors recounted their escape.
A man identified only as Brandon, who was at the bowling alley where one of the shootings took place, said he likely avoided getting shot by sprinting down a lane and climbing into the pin-setting equipment.
“Out of nowhere, he just came in and there was a loud pop. I thought it was a balloon and I had my back turned to the door,” Brandon told a reporter.
“As soon as I turned and saw that it was not a balloon, he was holding a weapon, I just booked it down the lane,” he said, “and I slid basically into where the pins are and climbed up into the machine and was on top of the machines for about 10 minutes.”
Card is a longtime member of the Army Reserve. NBC reported that his commander sent him to receive in-patient psychiatric treatment this summer after he threatened his base.
Card’s sister-in-law said he had recently been hearing voices in his head, including at the bowling alley and restaurant where the shootings erupted Wednesday.
