WEST BATH, Maine — Officials from the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office are searching for three men who they said assaulted and robbed a Phippsburg man after he got out of his car to help a woman who waved to him for help in a "broken-down" SUV in West Bath.
According to a release from Sheriff Joel Merry, the incident happened Saturday evening when the victim was driving his truck on Berry's Mill Road and saw a woman waving at him to stop.
When the man got out of his car to help the woman, Merry said three men jumped out of the SUV and began to assault and rob him, "causing him to lose consciousness and resulting in significant facial injuries."
Merry said the suspects then placed the victim inside the bed of his own truck and drove him to a random house on Gilman Way in Phippsburg, where he then regained consciousness and started yelling for help. A resident of the area noticed the commotion and called police. By this time, the men ran away into the nearby woods.
Merry said a Sagadahoc County K9 track was initiated but the K9 tracked the suspects back to Gilman Way, where Merry believes someone picked them up in a vehicle. The suspects are still at large, according to Merry.
The victim is being treated for his injuries at Maine Medical Center, according to Merry. Merry said the victim was unable to get a good look at the suspects because he had been grabbed from behind when he was assaulted.
According to Merry, a similar incident was reported to police in Brunswick on Saturday. Officials said a uniformed man who works for a private security company was also flagged down by a woman in a broken down, dark-colored SUV on Route 1 near Cooks Corner. However, when he came to help her, she said she was okay and no longer needed his help. If these were the same people plotting another attack, Merry said it is possible the security uniform scared them away.
"Our advice to people is to be very cautious about motorists who flag you down. That's contrary to what we usually tell people but it's not worth getting hurt," Sagadahoc County Chief Deputy Brett Strout told NEWS CENTER Maine.
The case remains under investigation, and anyone who may have information is asked to call the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office at 207-443-9711.