Warren Ahrens Leaving Maine for a Grand Adventure

WINTER HARBOR — Some people tiptoe through life. Others are bungee jumpers.

Warren Ahrens

After meeting a young Filipino woman online more than a year ago, then falling in love, Ahrens traveled to the country in Southeast Asia to spend several weeks with her. He returned to the Philippines in January to marry her. (She is very shy and didn’t want her name used in the article).

Ahrens, 74, is now back in Winter Harbor just long enough to wrap up a few pending court cases, close on the sale of his log cabin, and divest himself of a few remaining pieces of furniture before heading back more than 7,000 miles and across three oceans to his bride.

Although technically he can do police work until April 10, Ahrens hopes to be on a plane by March 21. He sold his landscaping business and is on the verge of finding a home for his five sled dogs. He found a buyer for his 1976 Porsche and gave his 1996 Mustang GT to one of his sons.

Town Manager Roger Barto said the Board of Selectmen accepted Ahrens’ resignation at a meeting March 9, but has not decided how it will fill his position. There are three part-time officers in town — Ahrens, Mike Walsh and Bill McMichael.

Asked last week how he will adjust to such a dramatic change in climate and environment, Ahrens said: “It’s not very nice here right now. It’s 82 and breezy in the Philippines. But I am going to have some trouble getting used to the humid days.”

He and his new wife have rented a house on the Pacific Ocean just 40 feet from the high tide mark. They eventually hope to buy their own home when they decide where in the islands they want to settle. Also, Ahrens is keeping a house he owns outside of New Brunswick, Canada.

“She would like to come here in a year or so to visit, but getting her a visa is the major problem,” Ahrens said.

He’s not sure what the future holds for him, but he’s very hopeful. He talks about ocean kayaking and possibly scuba diving, which he said is very popular in the Philippines.

Ahrens said the doctor who recently gave him a thorough physical marveled at his health.

“It’s cheap whiskey and fast women,” he laughed.

Asked to recall the better moments during his more than 15 years of policing in Gouldsboro and 12 years in Winter Harbor, Ahrens said there weren’t many.

“You don’t often get a call from someone saying stop by for a cup of coffee or a beer. Police deal in personal problems,” he said. “Often you can help them out, that’s been great. But I know it’s time to quit.”

On reflection, Ahrens, a New Jersey native, did eventually share the high, low and terrifying points of his professional life in Downeast Maine.

Most Terrifying Moment: “Delivering a baby in the back seat of the police cruiser. The baby is 23 now. I was probably more scared than if you had put a gun to my head.”

Most Tragic: “A young friend of mine, and I was very friendly with his parents, was killed in a motor vehicle right here in Winter Harbor. No one is sure what happened. His truck got stuck on top of the curb, he was trying to maneuver it out, the plastic behind the wheel well caught fire, and the truck blew and burned. He was just 21. He was a wonderful, hardworking young man. One of the worst experiences I ever had was going to his parents’ house at 6 a.m. and notifying them of his death.”

Most Bizarre: “A man I’ve had a lot of dealings with over the years in both towns and going back to a shooting incident in the 1990s. He’s been in and out of jail. He swore I was Lee Harvey Oswald with a face change. I got a letter from him two weeks ago and decided to finally write him back. I said I enjoyed hearing from old friends, that I was remarried, and I sent him a picture of my wedding. I never got a wedding present from him.”

Most Humorous: “A landscaping customer gave me a one-car garage. I wanted it to garage my Porsche. While we were moving it on a construction trailer to my house a half-mile away — police cruiser escort, cones out, building permit — we hit a bump. The braces holding the garage on the trailer snapped and the garage ended up in the middle of the road. Mike Walsh (Winter Harbor Police) gave me a ticket for carrying an unsecure load. He later refused prosecution.”

Nature of Crime in the Area: “We get a lot of domestic stuff. I think it’s the way we enforce the laws now. We no longer walk away from the house and tell them not to hit each other anymore. Now we let them know one of them is going to jail. On some occasions we took in the husband and the wife. Going to jail has a big effect on the outcome of some of this stuff.”