Authorities released the identities of the two people found dead of self-inflicted gun shot wounds in the North Country.

John Anderson, 38, of North Conway and Annie W. Springfield, 36, of Brownfield, ME, were discovered in a densely wooded area near Cold River Campground in Chatham, state police said.

"Facts and circumstances surrounding the discovery of the bodies indicated that this was an apparent double suicide," state police said in a statement.    Police found an apparent suicide note in the pair's parked camper-pickup truck, the town's selectman chairman, Wayne McAllister, said.

The man whose body was found near a Chatham campground in what police described as a double suicide had been in court three days earlier, charged in connection with the shooting of a dog, according to court papers.

Anderson, of 114 Oak St., appeared in the District Court of Northern Carroll County three days before state police and Fish and Game conservation officers discovered his body and that of what the court papers described as his girlfriend.

Anderson was in court for a bail hearing on three charges related to the shooting of a small dog on Dec. 27. The counts including a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals, and class B felony charges of falsifying evidence and reckless conduct.

Police were called to the Oak Street residence, located in a North Conway neighborhood, on the morning of Dec. 27, after receiving a report of a gunshot fired and a dog yelping.

Police, accompanied by the town's animal control officer, spoke with Springfield, who "informed us that her boyfriend, John Anderson , told her that morning he had shot a dog in their yard" and related to the officers that "he had a clear shot, lined up his sights and shot it in the back of the leg."

Springfield, according to the court papers, said that one of their three dogs that were in the yard "was in heat and they did not want the small dog near that dog." She also told investigators, according to the court documents, that Anderson shot the dog with a .22 caliber pistol. Police reported that she "would not allow us to enter the residence to make sure everyone was alright and to secure the firearm."

Anderson showed up at the Conway Police Department later that day and he "refused to answer any questions and refused to turn over the firearm." After receiving a search warrant, police returned to Anderson's residence and found "several boxes of ammunition for an AK-47" from the bedroom, as well as "a handbook for a .22 pistol." Springfield, who was at the house at the time of the search, told investigators that the gun was no longer on the property and that Anderson had "come home in a hurry" that afternoon and took the gun.

Police searched Anderson's vehicle, which was parked at the Red Fox in Jackson, but did not recover any weapons, according to the court papers.

A Conway police detective spoke again with Anderson, "who advised he did not have the guns" and refused to say where they were.

Anderson and Springfield had not been seen for two days before police discovered an apparent suicide note in a camper.  Chatham is located about 20 miles north of Conway, on Route 113, which winds in and out of Maine.

Their bodies were found about 400 feet from the vehicle, up a steep slope described by state police as "difficult geographical terrain." State Police Detective John McDonald, who is conducting the investigation, said late yesterday that the incident is still "under investigation."

However, he did ask for assistance in locating the couple's four dogs, which apparently accompanied them. They are described as a German shepherd, a husky, a German shepherd-husky mix and a Doberman-German shepherd mix.

Anyone seeing the animals can contact State Police Troop E in Tamworth at 603-323-3333.

Reference:

New Hampshire Union Leader