SABATTUS – Three local men were rescued Tuesday afternoon from Sabattus Pond, including a father and son found floating in the water, after their kayaks capsized, Fire Chief Troy Cailler said.
Mark Latti, communications director for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, said Corey Bouchard, 29, Cody McClain, 26, and Bouchard’s father, whose name and age was not immediately available, were all taken to Central Maine Medical Center showing signs of hypothermia.
Cailler said the Fire Department received reports about 12:46 p.m. of several people screaming near the boat launch at Martin Point.
“We had daytime per diem staffing at the station during that time, which was beneficial in us getting to the scene so fast,” he said. “Within 15 minutes, they had the boat hooked up, drove to the boat launch and had the boat on the water.”
Latti said the Sabattus Fire Department located Bouchard and his father floating near the center of the pond, where they had been for about 45 minutes.
Cailler, with the help of Sabattus firefighters Rob Gayton, Austin Gayton and Zach Campbell, took the boat out and rescued Bouchard and his father. According to Cailler, both men had “zero motor functions.”
“Their lips were blue and they couldn’t move,” he said. “If they didn’t have life jackets on, I’m not sure their heads would have stayed above the water.”
Latti said Game Wardens Cody Lounder and Harry Wiegman launched a watercraft from Martin Point on the east side of the pond and found McClain clinging to a paddle near the center of the pond.
McClain was wearing a life jacket, according to Latti.
All three were taken by United Ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center with varying stages of hypothermia.
Latti said Bouchard and his father were in their inflatable kayak, while McClain was in another one, and both kayaks flipped over after the winds on the pond picked up.
“When we put our boat into the water, there was white-capping going on and big swells coming in,” Cailler said. “With four people on our boat, we were taking on a ton of water over the side.”
He said the water temperature was “in the low 40s.”
Maine Game Warden Harry Wiegman, left, and a member of the Sabattus Fire Department, right, help Cody McClain, 26, of Sabattus to an ambulance after he was pulled from Sabattus Pond on Tuesday afternoon. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife photo
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