Homeless Man with Head Injury Passes Away

A homeless man who sustained a head injury earlier this week in a camp near the I-393 overpass at Fort Eddy Road has passed away. 

Paul E. Tinkham, 52, died around 4 a.m. on Aug. 10, at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, according to the New Hampshire State Police.

According to a statement, the Officer of the Chief Medical Examiner will be conducting an autopsy on Monday in an effort to determine the cause of death.

Back on Aug. 6, in the early evening, Concord Fire and Rescue teams, police, and troopers, were called to an encampment near the bridge for a report of a man who fell on some rocks and injured his head. Tinkham, who was living at the camp at the time, was assisted and transported to Concord Hospital and later, to Dartmouth. It was unknown at the time of the treatment whether Tinkham fell of his own volition or was assaulted first and then fell into the rocks.

Lt. Gregory Ferry of the New Hampshire State Police said that investigators are still looking into the incident an effort to find out what happened.

Anyone with information is urged to call New Hampshire State Troop D at 603-271-1162 or 603-223-8496. Ask for either Detective Sergeant Fred Lulka or Detective Timothy Beers.

City and state officials, as well as law enforcement agencies, have been trying to figure out what to do with the homeless situation in the city during the last year after a number of incidents at encampments around the city, including those that resulted in the death of campers. In May and June, police began clearing camping areas on private property around the city. The NH Civil Liberties Union sued to allow the campers to stay on state lands but lost in court. An aggressive panhandling ordinance was also approved by the Concord City Council. 

Editor's Note: A member of Tinkham's family reached out to Patch and stated that when Tinkham passed away, his three daughters, aged 19, 23, and 26, were by his side at the medical center.