By Abigail W. Adams
A multi-agency search was initiated shortly after 10:15 p.m. Thursday, July 30 when four boaters in this 14-foot Lund went out for what they said would be a short ride in the early evening and did not return. The boaters returned at approximately 11:10 p.m. unharmed. (Abigail Adams photo) |
The Maine Marine Patrol will not pursue charges for the Wiscasset boaters that were the subject of a multi-agency search after they were reported missing July 30, Marine Patrol Specialist Russell Wright said.
The search was called-off shortly after it began when the boaters returned to the Wiscasset waterfront unharmed and unaware a search had been initiated.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Maine Marine Patrol, Wiscasset Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Wiscasset Ambulance Service, Wiscasset Harbor Master, and the Westport Island and Wiscasset fire departments responded to a report of four boaters in a 14-foot Lund missing since the early evening.
According to Wiscasset Police Sgt. Kathy Williams, a concerned parent notified the department their child left on the Lund, owned by a family friend, with three other individuals for a short ride at approximately 6:30 p.m. By 10:15 p.m., the boat had not returned, conditions were foggy, and the parent had been unable to reach their child on their cell phone.
The Wiscasset Fire Department, Westport Island Fire Department, the Marine Patrol, and Coast Guard were dispatched to search different locations, at approximately 10:40 p.m.
Michael Burns, 23, of unknown residence, Lawrence St. Aarrant, 18, of unknown residence, Emma Corwin, 21, of Wiscasset, and Megan Drake, 23, of Woolwich, returned unharmed to the Wiscasset waterfront at approximately 11:10, Williams said.
“They were out joy-riding,” Williams said. “With the weather the parent didn’t think they would do something like that.”
The Marine Patrol was considering charges, but has decided not to pursue any. “They got back safe and everything turned out for the best, so I would say that’s the end of it,” Wright said.
