Melvin Searles is a resident of Chester's Mill, Maine. He is friends with Junior Rennie, Frank DeLesseps, and Carter Thibodeau.
On 20 October 2009, he and his friends beat up Dale Barbara in the parking lot of Dipper's Roadhouse, leading to Barbara's attempted exodus from Chester's Mill. The next day, Jim Rennie, Andy Sanders and Andrea Grinnell agreed to offer Searles, as well as Junior, DeLesseps and Thibodeau, jobs as temporary police officers.
The four of them, along with Georgia Roux, were sworn in the next morning as Special Deputies, and worked security at the joint protest/prayer-group held in the field of Dinsmore's farm that afternoon. Later that night, he, Searles, and Thibodeau raped Samantha Bushey in her trailer while Roux watched.
After they left Bushey bleeding on the floor, the next morning they were all called in by Randolph to evacuate people on the edges of the town in different sectors. The military were planning on launching a bomb that could potentially destroy the Dome but could possibly kill a few people near the blast radius. Searles and Thibodeau evacuated people from a sector, including the Holy Redeemer Church.
That night Searles was drinking sodas on the PD steps with his friends, DeLesseps, Thibodeau, Roux, and Freddy Denton. When Reverand Piper Libby walked by the steps; she was still angry about what they did to Sammy Bushey after she drove her to the hospital, Searles greeted her saying hello with a smile. That made her angrier and she approached the steps and shoved Searles into Roux. She then threatened them of knowing what they did to Bushey. Searles and the others quickly denied the accusation as Denton tried to calm her down. She kept pushing at them. Thibodeau finally pushed her down the steps. Seales witnessed Piper Libby's dog attacking Thibodeau and wounding him in the shoulder, he also saw when Denton finally shot the dog dead. Randolph heard the commotion and told them all to go inside to the cheif's office.
Searles stood outside the office with DeLesseps looking worried as Thibodeau, Roux, and Denton talked with Jim Rennie, Randolph, and Barbie as Rusty Everett treated Thibodeau's injured shoulder.
Rennie said they all had to talk to an inspecter tonight about the story of them raping Samantha Bushey. Searles and his friend's than spoke to Rennie about the meteor shower that was going to happen that night. He said it was just a way of God saying hello. Searles made a remark that it looked like the end of the world but Rennie simply stated he was saved by God.
The next day they all met with Rennie, Randolph and the inspecter. They all looked worried. While they made up a story of Bushey getting drunk and that she invited them all over for a few drinks Searles made an inappropriate joke with which Rennie flinched at. When they all finished their parts of the story Rennie let them off with only a warning. They were even able to keep their jobs. But Rennie also told them they had to guard Food City tomorrow morning and that there will be a mob because they had to save the last rations of food they had, and if one of them fires their firearms into the crowd they will lose their jobs. Searles and the others nodded their heads, saying they understood, and walked out of the inspection office.
When a small crowd started forming outside the market Searles and Denton drove over in police vehicle Four, while Frankie drove his own car and Thibodeau and Roux drove in Two.