Missing family found safe, ‘no evidence of criminal behavior:’ police

A missing Maine woman, her ex-boyfriend and their 2-year-old daughter have been found safe weeks after they disappeared during a family trip, authorities said Friday. 

The Sanford Police Department said it had spoken with Nicholas Hansen, Jill Sidebotham, and Lydia Hansen via the phone and video chat. The three vanished after setting off on June 27 for a three-day camping trip. 

“The Sanford Police Department can report that each party is unharmed and safe, and no evidence of criminal behavior has been observed,” police said in a Facebook post. “We also had verification that they were safe from local law enforcement who met with them in person.”

During the search for the trio, investigators looked into several leads they were sighted on June 29 and July 2 at a Walmart in Mexico, Maine, about 100 miles from Sidebotham’s home in Sanford.

The Maine Warden Service led two aerial searches around Mexico and Rangele for the family. 

Despite reports that Hansen may have been abusive, police have no evidence that Sidebotham was in distress and say she went on the trip voluntarily, Fox News Digital reported in July. Hansen’s state criminal records contained no violent convictions.

Images released by authorities at the time showed the three entering a store at the Coos Canyon Campground on June 29. In different screengrabs from surveillance video, both parents can be seen carrying Lydia.

Sidebotham’s family told the Boston Globe in July that Hansen asked her to go on an impromptu trip on June 27.

Her parents advised her not to accept Hansen’s invitation to go camping, the elder Sidebotham, who did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry, told several media outlets.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.