The Maine Warden Service found the body of a Massachusetts fisherman in Damariscotta Lake Monday morning after he had been missing when his canoe capsized Sunday night.
Victor Hardmon, 20, of Norton, Mass., was found approximately 100 yards from shore, nearby where dive teams had been searching late into Sunday evening on June 21.
According to the Warden Service, Hardmon was fishing with his friend, Brian James Malvey, 20, of Auburn, Mass. at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Sunday when their canoe capsized off shore near the Bunker Hill boat launch in Jefferson (Rt. 213).
The Warden Service reports the two men were standing in the canoe and fishing when the boat capsized. According to Sgt. Mark Warren of the Maine Warden Service, there were no personal floatation devices of any kind in the boat at the time.
Warren said Malvey was able to swim with a dog to some camps on shore, where he solicited help from a resident. He said Malvey then swam back out to the overturned canoe where Hardmon was hanging on. According to Jefferson Fire and Rescue Chief Sheridan Bond, the emergency call came in at 6:56 p.m.
“Brian made a valiant effort to assist his friend,” Warren said.
According to information available to the Warden Service, Hardmon had the ability to swim, but could not swim back to shore under the circumstances. Alcohol was not a contributing factor, Sgt. Warren said, but a surprise immersion into water could cause a person to gasp and swallow water, experiencing disorientation or distress, which can lead a person to panic.
According to Warren, Malvey swam back to shore to assist rescue personnel who had arrived on scene.
Responding to the boat launch shortly after the call were Jefferson Fire and Rescue, a dive team from the Bristol Fire Dept., the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Central Lincoln County Ambulance, Newcastle Fire Dept. and the Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Emergency personnel and a dive team searched the channel in a north-south direction in a grid pattern late Sunday night.
The Maine Warden Service and its dive team continued the search in cooperation with local emergency personnel, finding Hardmon Monday morning. His family has been notified, the report states.
Warren urged people who go out on the water, regardless of swimming ability, to wear personal floatation devices.