Medical examiner determines Dover-Foxcroft man found on porch died of heart attack

DOVER-FOXCROFT — A Dover-Foxcroft resident whose body was discovered on his front porch by a neighbor on New Year’s Day, after apparently being there for days, died of a heart attack, according to the state medical examiner.

In a March 12 email, Office of Chief Medical Examiner Administrator Mark Belserene wrote that the death of 77-year-old Clifford James Brown of the Steadman’s Landing Road “was a cardiac event causing immediate cardiac arrest.”

Belserene said Brown died in a natural manner. “Toxicology would be irrelevant in this case and was not a factor,” he added, saying there is no other information to release.

Brown’s body was discovered on his front porch by a neighbor on New Year’s Day, Dover-Foxcroft Police Chief Ryan Reardon said at the time. Reardon said a neighbor noticed the driveway had not been plowed and stopped by the property to check in. “He found the elderly gentleman frozen with the keys in the front door above his head,” the chief said. “He had been there for a few days.”

Reardon said the death did not appear suspicious. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner then investigated to determine the cause of death.

Brown was believed to have not been in contact with his family for quite some time and police thought they had been estranged. Brown was believed to have been living alone in the Steadman’s Landing Road home for more than a year.

Several days after the discovery of the body, the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department released Brown’s identity in the hope of locating his family. A later post said police had found a family member.