Sister of missing man plans to organize Lebanon search party

Pete Collins Jr. has not been seen for two weeks and his family is becoming increasingly worried. (Courtesy photo)

LEBANON - The sister of a Lebanon man who has now been missing two weeks said today she plans to organize a group of volunteers to scour the woods off Route 202 and West Lebanon Road this coming weekend in an effort to find any clues that might shed light on his sudden disappearance.

Pete Collins Jr., 42, was last seen leaving his girlfriend's home in East Rochester around 6 p.m. on Aug. 30. According to his sister, Nicole Seger, of Lebanon, he was planning on coming home to his Shapleigh Road residence where he lives with his sister, grab some clothes and return to his girlfriend's house.

Seger texted his sister he was going to get a ride with a friend, but when she contacted the friend the next day, they said they had never given him a ride. To cloud the issue more, Collins' girlfriend said she got a text from him around 10 p.m. that night that he wouldn't be returning.

That's the last contact anyone's had with Collins, who grew up in North Berwick and attended Noble.

Seger said today she's somewhat frustrated by the lack of urgency exhibited by State Police and that she's reaching out to Portland TV stations to help get the word out on her brother's disappearance and her concern for his safety.

Seger told The Lebanon Voice last week that her brother has never done this sort of thing before, and that while he may have occasionally dropped out of sight for a weekend, it never went longer than that.

Seger said today that someone messaged her Sunday saying they'd seen her brother walking along Route 202 between 6-7 p.m. on Aug. 30. She said that would be consistent with how he would walk to get home and the time he would have left his girlfriend's house, she said.

Seger said she hopes to organize a search along Route 202 and West Lebanon Road as well as the area around the bridge that connects South Lebanon to East Rochester and the banks of the Salmon Falls River below.

Seger said she's also concerned that Collins may have struck off through woods along a path that he might have thought would be a shortcut to their Shapleigh Road home.

She said her brother occasionally deals with mild depression, but it's never been serious, and he is not on any drugs.

State Police have entered Collins' name into a database that would go out to neighboring states, Seger said, but she doesn't feel like they've done as much as they could or should.

In the meantime, Seger said countless volunteers have helped post missing person posters all over the northern Seacoast from Somersworth to Milton and everywhere in between.

"So many people have reached out to me," she said. "They're getting the flyers out at Town Halls, on telephone poles and even at convenience stores. The people of Lebanon have been wonderful."

And if Collins is out there and reads this, "Please just let someone know you're OK," she begs.

If anyone thinks they may have seen him they're urged to call Seger at 207-337-1400 or State Police at 207-657-3030 and ask for Trooper John Darcy.

State Police were not immediately available for this report.