MASS shooting suspect Robert Card has been found dead 48 hours after 18 people were killed and 13 wounded in a gun rampage in Maine.
Card, 40, was on the run for more than two days after the horrific massacre at a bowling alley and bar in , about an hour north of Portland.
Card's body was found at 7:45 pm on Friday in a dumpster at a Lisbon Falls recycling plant where he used to work before being fired, according to local ABC affiliate .
The suspected killer is believed to have shot himself in the head, though it is still unclear when he died.
He was wearing the same clothes that he was pictured in when he allegedly stormed a bowling alley wielding an AR-15-style gun.
Cops had previously found Card's car in nearby Lisbon on Wednesday night, shortly after the shootings.
The discovery of his body ended 48 hours of terror for Lewiston and surrounding cities, which were on edge as he remained on the run.
He was found dead a few hours after police released names and photos of all 18 victims who were killed.
The youngest was just 14 years old.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers worked around-the-clock searching for Card after the shooting rampage at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, previously known as Sparetime, and at Schemengees Bar and Grille just before 7 pm on Wednesday.
Armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle, the shooter gunned down seven victims inside the bowling alley before continuing the bloodbath at Schemengees, about four miles away.
Maine State said eight others were killed at the restaurant, and three other victims died after being rushed to hospitals.
It was confirmed on Friday that investigators uncovered a note at one of the residences that were searched in the hunt for Card but authorities refused to elaborate on what it said.
Law enforcement sources previously told that Card left a suicide note addressed to his son at his house.
Sources also revealed that Card's sister had been cooperating with cops during the investigation and claimed that the suspect may have been looking for his ex before he went on a shooting spree.
The sibling also told investigators that Card stayed at a mental health facility during the summer after he heard voices in his head.
Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the , the deadliest in Maine's history.
Heavily armed officers searched Lewiston and surrounding towns, following over 530 tips and leads and issuing shelter-in-place orders that covered nearly 700 square miles in .
Federal agents searched a house in the nearby town of Bowdoin, where Card is from, on Thursday evening, saying on a loudspeaker: "Robert Card, you’re under arrest. We know you’re inside. Come out with your hands up, we don’t want anyone to get hurt."
Helicopters and drones were overhead and a spotlight was pointed at the but most of the cops left after discovering Card was not holed up inside.
Resources were dedicated to searching a boat launch near Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls, where Card's Subaru Outback was found hours after the shooting.
Officials feared the US Army recruit could have escaped the area in a 15-foot boat after uncovering that he owned a green boat.
Maine State Police deployed dive teams with sonar and remote operating vehicles to search the vast waters along the shoreline.
Less than 48 hours after the tragedy, families began to identify those killed in the mass shooting.
The victims were identified as Peyton Brewer-Ross, 39; Ronald G. Morin, 55; Tommy Conrad, 34; Michael Deslauriers II, 51; Bryan MacFarlane, 41; Arthur Fred Strout, 42; Joseph "Joey" Walker, 57; Joshua Seal, 36; Tricia Asselin, 53; Maxx Hathaway, 35; William and Aaron Young, 44 and 14, respectively, Robert "Bob" Violette and his wife Lucy, 76 and 73 respectively; Jason Adam Walker, 51; Keith D. Macneir, 64; William Frank Brackett, 48; and Stephen M. Vozzella, 45.
Violette, the first victim identified, was a longtime bowling instructor who members say bravely died protecting children at Just-In-Time Recreation.
Born and raised in Lewiston, Violette was an avid bowler who played most mornings and participated in leagues, his daughter-in-law, Cassandra, told .
Violette and his wife of almost 50 years, Lucy, took up the sport in retirement because it was something they could do together, Cassandra recalled.
He became passionate about the sport and began running a youth league at the bowling alley.
"He wouldn't let you walk out the door without giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek," Cassandra said.
"He was just there for everything."
For the retired Sears mechanic, Wednesday nights were reserved for teaching youth bowling.
Cassandra said Violette saved money to buy iPads and iPhones to get good videos of the kids in his league and help them improve.
"He loved those kids, all of them," she recalled.
The Violettes are survived by their three children, Andrew, Tom, and John, and six grandchildren.
Tricia Asselin, 53, a part-time employee at Just-In-Time Recreation, was shot and killed as she ran to the counter and dialed 911.
"What I'm told is that when it all started happening, she ran up to the counter and started to call 911, and that's when she was shot," Asselin's brother, DJ Johnson, told .
"That was just her. She wasn't going to run. She was going to try and help."
Friend Sarah Proulx remembered Asselin as a selfless, big-hearted, hardworking single mother.
"She would've put herself in harms way to help others," she exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
Joseph "Joey" Walker, the manager at Schemengees Bar and Grille, was one of the eight victims killed at the restaurant.
Leroy, Walker's dad, said his son died while trying to stop the gunman.
"He died as a hero, 'cause he picked up a butcher knife, somewhere, he has all that stuff by the bar, and he tried to go at the gunman to stop him from shooting anybody else.
"The gunman shot him twice," Leroy told .
The victims' families, as well as Card's relatives, were contacted prior to Friday night's press conference announcing that his body was found.
Maine Senator Susan Collins said in a statement: "To the families who lost loved ones and to those injured by this attack, I know that no words can diminish the shock, pain, and justifiable anger you feel."
Governor Janet Mills expressed her "profound gratitude" for the first responders who searched for Card and helped find his body.
"Like many people, I am breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone," she said.
"With this search concluded I know that law enforcement continues to investigate all the facts."
Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre said there is still work to do as they continue to investigate the motive behind the shooting, though he added: "[I'm] very happy the threat is over."
