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Case Description

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Summary based on the NamUs case record (MP117236) and 7 other sources
Michael Arthur Overman was 35 years old when he was last known to have contact on June 1, 1978, in the area of Duck Island, Maine, in Hancock County, with the listed location associated with Frenchboro. Public case information identifies him as a White/Caucasian male with brown hair and brown eyes, standing between 6 feet 3 inches and 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds. He was known as Mike, and the available account of his disappearance describes him as someone who liked to hike in the woods. The details that remain publicly available are spare, but they paint the picture of a man who was comfortable outdoors and whose disappearance left his family searching across difficult terrain and painful uncertainty.

According to the NamUs case record, Michael went missing around 1978 on Duck Island. The same public case information says his family conducted extensive searches at the time, but he was never found. He was usually known to wear jeans with either hiking boots or tennis shoes, details that may have mattered deeply to those looking for him in the woods and surrounding island area. There are no publicly listed distinctive physical features, transportation details, or additional clothing items beyond those general notes, and no public recovery circumstances are listed. The absence of many specifics is part of what makes the case so difficult: a loved one disappeared, the family searched, and the record that remains decades later contains only fragments of what they endured.

Michael’s case is listed in NamUs as Missing Person case MP117236 and is associated with the Maine State Police as the investigating agency. The NamUs record was created long after the disappearance, reflecting the way older cases can be entered into modern missing-person systems decades later in an effort to preserve information, support comparisons, and keep a pathway open for answers. NamUs is described by federal sources as a national clearinghouse and repository for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases, used by law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, families, and others seeking resolution. In Michael’s case, the public data indicates that family reference DNA has been collected from a brother and processed through the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory, a step that may help investigators compare Michael’s case with unidentified-person records if a possible match is ever developed.

The known public story of Michael Arthur Overman’s disappearance begins with a 35-year-old man who enjoyed hiking and was last known to be on or near Duck Island, Maine, on June 1, 1978. It continues with his family searching extensively and facing the devastating reality that he was not found. Decades later, his name remains in a national missing-person system, with the Maine State Police listed as the investigating agency and identifying information preserved for anyone who may be able to help. In overview, this is a long-unresolved Maine missing-person case involving Michael Arthur “Mike” Overman, a tall, brown-haired, brown-eyed man last associated with Duck Island in Hancock County in 1978; he was known to spend time hiking, was typically described as wearing jeans and hiking boots or tennis shoes, and despite family searches and later entry into NamUs, the publicly available record does not provide a confirmed explanation for what happened to him.

Last Seen: Jun 1, 1978