A man drowned Saturday while trying to save his two daughters from the deep end of a pond in Maine, according to local outlets.
Henry Brooks, 46, of Hope, was sitting at a picnic table at about 4:30 p.m. at Ayer Park in Union, watching his daughters swim in the Seven Tree Pond. One of the girls then fell into the deeper waters of the confluence between the pond and St. George River, according to The Courier-Gazette. The other daughter tried to rescue her but was swept along as well. Brooks, hearing their cries and realizing what was happening, reportedly jumped in to rescue them. His 27-year-old son followed, grabbing a life jacket. (RELATED: REPORT: Man Jumps Into Lake Michigan, Drowns While Trying To Help Child)
A Hope man has died in a drowning accident while trying to rescue his children says the The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.https://t.co/c2Ea9Xgi6G
— CBS 13 News (@WGME) July 9, 2023
The son was able to rescue his sisters, bringing them back to safety at a nearby dock and then looked back for his father but could not find him, according to the report. Emergency responders from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Union Rescue arrived alongside private citizens in kayaks and searched the waters.
Three Maine Warden Service divers arrived at the scene and eventually located and recovered Brooks’ body at about 7:30 p.m., approximately 50 feet from shore in seven-foot-deep water, according to WABI.
Brooks’ body was taken to Halls Funeral Home in Waldoboro, about 13 miles from Ayer Park, while his daughters and son were brought to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport for overnight observation, per The Courier-Gazette.