Fort Kent PD and local citizen assist in capture of rapist

FORT KENT - There may have been a bad man in the area.

For Fort Kent Police Chief Kenneth Michaud, the story begins when the local police department received a bulletin that said to be on the lookout for a black Chevy GMC Z71 pickup with license plate 59425B.

FOUND BY THE RIVER - This black pickup, impounded at Twin's Auto Repair, belongs to Mike Beaulieu, of Anson, Maine.Fort Kent police and Ron Jeandreu located the pickup at a small campsite near the Fort Kent Blockhouse.  Beaulieu, an alleged rapist and registered sex offender, apparently abandoned the car and swam to Canada.  Law enforcement captured him at Baker Lac on Tuesday. - Birden photo

Later that day, said Michaud, "I went looking all over town."

He drove the major streets and cruised the less-visible parts of the community.  The Ron Jandreau called and told Michaud he found something down by the iconic Blockhouse off of Main Street.

"Ron Jandreau said it was in Little Grove," said Michaud, referring to a camping spot on the east side of the Fort Kent Blockhouse.

It was a black Z71.

Michaud said there was a guitar on the table and a set of binoculars.

He called in the plates and received a positive hit, and he called Twins Auto Repair to impound the vehicle.

Ron Jandreau followed some tracks to the St. John River, which appeared to indicate the driver had crossed into Canada.

The pickup belonged to Mike Beaulieu, 35, of Anson, Maine.

According to reports, Pennsylvania police charged the already-convicted sex offender with raping a woman in the Allegheny National Forest on August 3.

Reports have stated the alleged victim and other witnesses identified Beaulieu in a photo line-up.

Reports state that Beaulieu made his way to Baker Lac, New Brunswick.  After a manhunt using the combined forces of the Pennsylvania State Police, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Forest Service, Maine State Police, and the Fort Kent Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police captured Beaulieu at a campground.

News reports allege Beaulieu approached a couple in the Allegheny National Forest, tied up the man, kidnapped the woman, drove to McKean County and raped her at gunpoint.