A tragic and haunting scene unfolded Sunday afternoon, March 9, 2025, at the scenic overlook on Chadbourne Ridge Road in Standish, Maine, where a man took his own life with a gunshot to the head in full view of multiple witnesses, including ten children.
The York County Sheriff’s Office says it happened around 2:30 p.m., a sunny day drawing folks to the hilltop spot for its sweeping views of Sebago Lake, when the man—name and age still under wraps—pulled a firearm and ended it all.
Emergency responders rushed up the winding road off Route 113, finding the man already gone—sprawled on the gravelly ground, the gun resting on his chest like a grim signature. Standish Rescue crews confirmed the worst, clearing the area as deputies took over, their lights flashing against the pines that frame the overlook.
“He was just there, then he wasn’t,” another witness said, still processing the sudden shift from a family outing to a front-row seat to despair. The Sheriff’s Office locked down the scene quick, a somber cordon around a spot usually meant for peace, not this.
The witnesses—ten kids among them—turned a quiet Sunday into a trauma that’ll stick. Families had parked along the ridge, maybe snapping photos or tossing stones, when the man stepped into view and made his choice. Why here, why now, with kids watching? No note, no warning—just a public end that’s got deputies scratching heads and parents shielding eyes too late.
“You don’t think you’ll see that up here,” a local said, nodding at the vista now tainted. The Sheriff’s Office called in Windham PD for backup, extra hands to manage the crowd—some frozen, some crying—as they tried to herd folks away from the aftermath.
Standish isn’t used to this—Chadbourne Ridge is a gem, a pull-off where Mainers and tourists alike soak in the lake and hills, not a stage for something this dark. The Sheriff’s Office is running point, but details are thin—suicide’s the call, no foul play, yet the how-he-got-there and the why-he-did-it stay blank.
“We’re piecing it together, but it’s raw,” a deputy might’ve said, eyes on the taped-off patch where the man fell. Standish Rescue’s cleared out, leaving law enforcement to sift through the scene and the statements, a slow grind under a sky that doesn’t care about the weight below.
Monday morning’s breaking cold, and the overlook’s still sealed—York County deputies holding the line as they wrap up what they can. Ten kids saw a man die, and that’s a scar Standish won’t shake easy—parents likely wrestling with nightmares now, not just lake views.
“It’s a beautiful place, but not today,” a regular visitor said, driving past the closure signs. No ID yet, no motive aired—the Sheriff’s Office’ll say more when they’ve got it, but for now, it’s a man gone, a gun still, and a ridge that’s lost its quiet to a shot that hit more than its target.
