Maine mass shooter Robert Card was ‘likely dead for 8 to 12 hours before his body was found’, chief medical examiner says

• Robert Card, 40, likely killed himself eight to 12 hours before his body was found
• The Maine mass shooter murdered 18 people and injured 13 on October 25
• Officials confirmed that his autopsy report will not be released without family permission 
• His body was found by a Maine Recycling Corporation plant he was fired from

The Maine mass shooter killed himself eight to 12 hours before his body was found, official documents have revealed. 

Army reservist Robert Card, 40, was found dead two days after opening fire in a bowling alley and bar on October 25. 

Officers discovered his body with a gunshot wound to the head near a Maine Recycling Corporation plant he was recently fired from. His death was ruled as suicide.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said in a statement: ‘The postmortem interval based on rigor mortis and other physical signs indicate Mr. Card was deceased likely 8-12 hours before being located.’

Officials confirmed that his autopsy report will not be released ‘without next of kin permission and it may be several months before the report is available due to additional studies being conducted.’

His body was just a short walk from where his vehicle was first found roughly four hours after the shooting erupted on October 27.

Mike Sauschuck, Maine’s public safety commissioner, revealed in a morning press conference that the two-day manhunt scoured the plant twice and officials only returned to the area at the direction of the factory’s manager.

He said the location where the body was found was in an overflow parking lot containing roughly 60 trailers, which officials did not realize existed.

‘Nobody had any idea that across the street there was an overflow parking lot,’ he said.

Sauschuck revealed that Card’s body was found alongside two firearms and appeared to be wearing the ‘same sweatshirt’ he was seen wearing in surveillance images when the shooting took place.

His final movements may have taken him along a secluded, disused railroad track that leads directly to his abandoned vehicle and to the recycling plant where his body was found.

Although police closely guarded the entrance to the trail at the time the body was found, DailyMail.com was able to walk the route. 

The walking trail, which runs southeast along the bank of the Androscoggin River, is a direct path from where his vehicle was found by a boat dock, to the large industrial complex where the recycling plant is located.

The path runs adjacent to the disused railroad.

One officer stationed inside the recycling complex’s perimeter told DailyMail.com o that the path may have been Card’s ‘final footsteps’. The officer pointed out the parking lot area where the body was found.

The secluded trail is well-hidden from the nearby main road, Lisbon Street. There are several points that lead directly into the site where the recycling plant is located.

At one point, the path leads into a parking lot where a torn section of police tape was still in place on Saturday morning.

When the manhunt was ongoing, a search of a property linked to Card led investigators to find a suicide note inside.

Sauschuck said the note was not ‘explicitly’ a suicide note, but the ‘tone’ of the letter was intended to be read after he was already dead.

He added that it included aspects common in suicide notes, including how to access Card’s bank account and phone.

The news of Card’s death was met with widespread relief after the search came to a close, lifting various shelter-in-place orders for terrified locals.

The White House released a statement saying the two days between the shooting on October 25 and Card’s body being found had been ‘tragic’ for the entire country.

‘This has been a tragic two days – not just for Lewiston, Maine, but for our entire country,’ President Joe Biden said in a statement. 

‘Once again, an American community and American families have been devastated by gun violence.

‘In all, at least eighteen souls brutally slain, more injured, some critically, and scores of family and friends praying and experiencing trauma no one ever wants to imagine.

‘Numerous brave law enforcement officers have worked around the clock to find this suspect and prevent the loss of more innocent life – all while risking their own. They are the best of us.

‘Tonight we’re grateful that Lewiston and surrounding communities are safe after spending excruciating days hiding in their homes.

‘I thank Governor Janet Mills for her steady leadership during this time of crisis, and continue to direct my administration to provide everything that is needed to support the people of Maine.

‘Americans should not have to live like this. I once again call on Republicans in Congress to fulfill their obligation to keep the American people safe. Until that day comes, I will continue to do everything in my power to end this gun violence epidemic.

‘The Lewiston community – and all Americans – deserve nothing less.’

Card was from Bowdoin, Maine – a town with a population just over 3,000 – and a ‘highly skilled’ Army ‘petroleum supply specialist’ who enlisted in December 2002. He has had no combat deployments.

He was a 1st Class Sergeant and had been awarded the Army Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defence Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and two Army Reserve Component Achievement medals.

Card, who reportedly has ties to Massachusetts, grappled with mental health issues and reportedly was ‘hearing voices’ and threatened to shoot up a military training base. 

His X account, now suspended, revealed that he followed and liked posts by several prominent conservative pundits, including Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson and Dinesh D’Souza 

He had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this year.