River Dave Will Try To Start Over In Maine After Being Banned From New Hampshire

Will River Dave find Maine to be 'the way life should be' now that he's moved here?

Many first learned of the man named River Dave when his story became the stuff of headlines here in Maine in August of 2021 after he was arrested and jailed for essentially squatting on land in the New Hampshire woods for more than 30 years.

Dave's troubles all started when the person who actually owned the 70+ acres of land he'd been living on, and apparently was unaware that the octogenarian had built a make-shift home there, was contacted and told they would have to pay taxes on the "home."

Dave claimed a previous owner had given the airforce veteran permission to be there, but he had no proof of this agreement.

So the authorities arrested and jailed him. He was told to stay off the land but didn't. As such, he was thrown in jail again, except this time, his house mysteriously burned down while he was incarcerated.

River Dave's plight captured the attention of a number of people, including a tech billionaire, Alexander Karp, who is the CEO of Palantir Technologies.

Karp gave River Dave money to buy his own land/home, which it appeared he was set to do, but not before River Dave was arrested again this past January.

According to WABI TV5, River Dave has decided to put down roots in Maine, after being kicked out of New Hampshire for good.

"In March, a judge said Lidstone would face the daily fine if he didn’t leave the area by April 11. David Lidstone, 82, has put in windows and is working on installing a chimney on his rustic three-room cabin, which he said is on land he bought. Lidstone, who grew up in Maine, declined to say where he was living or provide a contact for the landowner."

Dave's also on the hook for some of the legal fees surrounding the case.

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The article went on to say that the landowner who originally brought charges against River Dave actually passed away last month. It's not known how that might affect the situation going forward.