Man Drowns Trying To Recover Boat In Maine

Damariscotta Lake, photo courtesy Visit Maine.

A man drowned while trying to recover a boat that had drifted away on Damariscotta Lake in Maine on Friday.

According to officials with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the victim was Richard Eason, 74, of Ocala, Florida. Eason reportedly has a summer home on Damariscotta Lake.

Witnesses saw Eason offload his boat at the Vannah Road Boat Launch at 1:45 p.m. on Friday, May 30.

Wind apparently pushed the boat offshore while he was parking his truck.

Witnesses saw Eason swim roughly 75 yards toward the boat, but he then went under water and did not resurface. Officials said he was not wearing a life jacket.

Emergency crews responded to the scene, but were unable to locate Eason. A Maine Warden Service dive team recovered Eason’s body in roughly 15 feet of water at around 7 p.m.