This story will be updated.
Police have closed a portion of a major road in Medway that leads into East Millinocket due to a standoff, and schools in East Millinocket and Medway have closed as a result.
The East Millinocket Police Department said in a Facebook post just before 7:30 a.m. Friday that Medway Road in Medway, between Grindstone and Pattagumpus roads, has been blocked off.
Medway Road is also Route 157. Grindstone Road is also Route 11 while Pattagumpus Road is known as Route 116.
The closure effectively cuts off access to East Millinocket for residents of Medway, and forced schools in both towns to close, according to Stacie Smith, superintendent of East Millinocket schools.
School was called off after many staff and students could not make it around the road closure, which was due to a standoff on Route 157, Smith said. There is no threat to student safety and all students have been returned home, she said after 10 a.m. Friday morning.
The detour for students and staff to get to school buildings in East Millinocket and Medway would have been nearly 100 miles, according to Smith.
The Maine State Police Tactical Team and crisis negotiators are assisting, according to Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety.