Scrubbed article leaving many asking questions about disappearance of congressional candidate

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Congressional candidate found alive after car accident

By CLYNTON NAMUO Union Leader Correspondent 2 hours, 56 minutes ago

Dover - Democratic 1st District U.S. House candidate Gary B. Dodds of Rye was discovered alive late last night after being missing for more than 24 hours after his Lincoln Continental crashed on the Spaulding Turnpike in Dover.

Dodds was found by a rescue dog about a mile to a mile and a half from the Spaulding Turnpike accident site, after authorities combed the area throughout the day and into the night.

He went missing after his car crashed about 8:16 p.m. Wednesday between Exit 7 and the Dover toll plaza as he traveled south on the Spaulding Turnpike.

Rescuers said Dodds had apparently crossed the Bellamy River and was discovered about 100 to 150 yards behind a home on McKenna Street not far from the Garrison Elementary School. He had wrapped himself in leaves to keep warm, and was laying on the ground when the dog, Eli, caught his scent.

Donna Larson of New England Canine said Dodds called out to her as she directed her dog.

“He seemed fine right away,” Larson, of New Ipswich, said at a news conference early this morning. “He was talking to us and very glad to be found.”

Dodds told Larson that he was an EMT and "knew how to take care of himself," but did not know what had happened. "He was talking to me at some points and at some points not speaking, so he was in and out of it," she explained.

Dodds, 41, is seeking the U.S. House seat now occupied by Republican Jeb Bradley. He is the chief financial officer and co-founder of Accent Magazine, a home-and-gardens and lifestyle publication based in Portsmouth.

His disappearance Wednesday night was treated as a missing person report. It led to extensive efforts to locate a man who was trained as an EMT and was said to know not to leave the scene of an accident.

Rescuers said Dodds was going in and out of consciousness when he was found. He had gotten wet crossing the river and had to be carried out and taken to the hospital.

The reason for his long walk after the accident had not been determined, authorities said. Spending another night among falling temperatures could have been fatal, they said.

The wreck happened when the car went over the guard rail on the right side of the road and into some brush nearby, turning around in the process and blocking the driver’s side door.

Witnesses pulled over soon after the wreck and found the passenger side window open and one set of footprints, but no one inside, police said.

Police said there was no blood in the car or evidence of serious injuries, but did not rule out the possibility. No had seen or heard from him and there had been no activity on his credit cards or bank accounts, police said.

“He believes he may have swerved to miss a deer or something in the road,” Dodds’ wife, Cynthia, told WMUR-TV today outside of Portsmouth Regional Hospital, where he was hospitalized. “He jumped out of the vehicle. He thought it was on fire.”

After that, “he remembers he was in water over his head,” Cynthia Dodds said.

She said when authorities told her her husband was missing, she was surprised. He’s an emergency medical technician who “knows not to leave the scene of an accident,” she said.

She said he was doing well, but “he definitely had a good bump to the head. He was definitely confused; he has no idea how he got into the river.”

Cynthia Dodds said her husband remembers crawling to an area and covering himself with pine needles, getting underneath a tree to conserve energy. He was cold and hungry, she said.

When asked if he had been drinking, she said no, describing Dodds as “the straightest, cleanest guy you’ll ever meet,” who doesn’t drink or smoke or have any medical conditions.

State police said Dodds “is believed to be the last known person driving the vehicle. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

His cell phone was last used about 8 p.m. Wednesday, shortly before the accident, according to Cyndy Dodds.

“We believe it was him driving,” said Cyndy Dodds. “We believe he was alone.”

His campaign manager, Bonnie Winona of Nottingham, said Cyndy Dodds told her that Dodds had attended a campaign-related meeting in Somersworth on Wednesday night and was on his way to Portsmouth to meet privately with his campaign fiscal agent, attorney Frank Meanor Jr. of Bedford.

Winona, who began working for Dodds’ campaign in January, described Dodds as “a wonderful guy. He’s young, healthy, and he’s healthy-living. He’s a martial arts practitioner and he doesn’t drink or smoke or anything like that.”

Police were yesterday investigating a report of an unidentified woman spotted by students near the Garrison Elementary School, which is located just across the Bellamy River from the scene of the accident.

“They believe there was a woman walking near the woodline with a gun,” said Capt. Anthony Colarusso of the Dover Police.

Colarusso said police were trying to determine if there was any connection to Dodds and noted that there were footprints found near the water on the other side of the water. The Bellamy River is shallow enough near the school that a person could walk across it.

Rye School Board Chairman Ian Grant said Dodds, as a congressional candidate, “keeps a much different schedule than most school board members.

“He’s a friend, a friend of the board and the community,” Grant said.

He said he last spoke with Dodds earlier this week, “and he was very positive. He was walking the district as part of his campaign, meeting people and was excited about the people he was having conversations with.”

Keith Lemerise, who co-founded Accent Magazine with Dodds, described him as “straight as an arrow.”

“We are praying for his family and hope he shows up,” Lemerise said. “He is a very strong person.”

According to Dodds’ campaign Web site, he is an Illinois native who has lived in New Hampshire since 1974 and earned a master’s degree at the University of New Hampshire.

Since 1988 he has been a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Rye Fire Department.

In 1994, he was elected to the Rye Planning Board, and in 1996 was elected to the Rye School Board, where he serves as vice chairman.

He volunteers for the Center for Student Leadership, a non-profit agency, his Web site says.

Other Democrats seeking to challenge Bradley are state Reps. James Craig and Peter Sullivan, both of Manchester, and Carol Shea-Porter of Rochester.

¦Union Leader Senior Political Reporter John DiStaso and the Associated Press contributed to this report.