One of the Fryeburg police officers who assisted in a rescue attempt on the Saco River on Saturday was released from Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Monday, while another officer remained in critical condition.
Fryeburg police officers Dale Stout, 51, and Nathan Desjardins, 20, were thrown from a rescue boat after it hit something near the shore, according to the Maine Warden Service.
They were transported by medical helicopter to CMMC, where Desjardins has been in critical condition since.
Jennifer Bousquet, 38, of South Berwick, is still missing, but police now consider the search to be a recovery effort. Bousquet disappeared after the canoe she was riding in with Wayne Demers, 62, of Somersworth, New Hampshire, capsized about 3:50 p.m. Saturday near mile 8 of the Saco River.
A second canoe paddled by Brian Day, 54, of South Berwick, who was riding alongside them, also capsized. Demers and Day made it to shore.
The search for Bousquet is expected to resume Tuesday morning, according to the warden service.
The Desjardins family released a statement to WCSH-6 on Sunday saying that Nathan Desjardins suffered “intensive head trauma” and that his “mother, father and older brother are by his side 24/7.”
Stout is also a firefighter/paramedic with the Biddeford Fire Department.
Biddeford Fire Chief Scott Gagne released a statement Monday saying that the department’s peer support team has been working with Stout and his family as he recovers.
“Dale has been a valued career member of our department for the past 11 years. We wish him a speedy recovery. Our thoughts also go out to Officer Desjardins and his family,” Gagne said.
Paul Hall, who was fishing with a friend on the Saco River on Saturday, told WCSH-6 on Monday that he heard a “loud bang” and then heard Stout yelling for help. They went to the rescue boat and found Stout injured and Desjardins unconscious.
They used Stout’s radio to call for help, Hall told the TV station.
“You won’t forget about something like this. It’s one of those things where it won’t be in the front of my mind … but I can close my eyes and see it probably forever,” he said.
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