A man and boy who were the subjects of a brief search in Damariscotta are safe and were never missing.
A passerby contacted authorities this afternoon after becoming concerned that the man and boy had fallen through the ice on a small pond on Church Street.
The passerby saw the man and boy on the pond in the vicinity of 85 Church St., across the street from Hillside Cemetery. Later, the passerby returned to the area and noticed a hole in the ice and no one on the pond.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office responded, along with the Damariscotta and Newcastle fire departments.
Damariscotta Fire Chief John Roberts said the hole was for ice fishing, and footprints were visible going on and off the pond.
“We thought it was a false alarm,” Roberts said.
The brief search-and-rescue operation ended when the man and boy returned to the pond. “They saw lights and came down to see what was going on,” Roberts said.
The call came in at about 3:15 p.m., and all personnel were clear about 30-45 minutes later, Roberts said.
