Maine State Police issue Silver Alert for missing reverend

7 years ago

CARIBOU, Maine — The search for Clement Thibodeau, 85, of Caribou continues, as Maine State Police have issued a Silver Alert in hopes of locating the missing retired Catholic priest.

Thibodeau was last seen in Caribou on Saturday, July 15, Caribou police said Friday.

A release from the local police indicates that Thibodeau is believed to have left the area in his gray 2013 Chevrolet Equinox. The vehicle’s license plate number is 638A.

“The latest we have is that he may be or may have been in central Maine,” police said in a release issued Friday morning.

The Silver Alert is designed to notify media outlets around the state to get the public’s assistance in the search for missing senior citizens, who may have memory or cognitive issues.

Thibodeau has ties to eastern, central and southern Maine. He served as a priest at St. Mary Catholic Church in Bangor in the late 1980s, becoming pastor of the church in 1993.

Over the years, Thibodeau also served as pastor at St. Mary’s in Eagle Lake, Notre Dame in Waterville, and St. Joseph’s in Gardiner. He attended Caribou High School, St. Francis College in Biddeford and the Grand Seminary at the University of Montreal.

He spent 17 years as a teacher at St. Ignatius High School in Sanford and taught religious studies at Nason College in Springvale. In 2001, he retired to the farm in Connor, near Caribou, where he grew up.

Police urge anyone who has seen Thibodeau or his vehicle to contact police in the area or call Caribou PD directly at 493-3301.