A 5-year-old boy drowned in the Mousam River in the Springvale area of Sanford on Saturday afternoon.

The identity of the boy was being withheld by Sanford Police until the boy’s extended family could be notified.

Sanford Fire Department Capt. Paul Morrison said the boy had been hiking along the Mousam Way Trail off Stanley Road with his parents and at least one sibling when he fell into the water at about noon near what is locally known as Indian’s Last Leap.

The boy was then swept down the swiftly flowing river, swollen from recent heavy rains and melting snow.

The boy had been submerged for some time before he was pulled from the water, said Sanford Police Cpl. Matthew Jones. Efforts were made to revive the child.

Meanwhile, other emergency workers pulled the mother out of the water where she had been searching for the child, officials said.

The parents and the boy were transported to Goodall Hospital where the boy was pronounced dead.

The trail is a popular hiking route, Morrison said.

 

Staff Writer Beth Quimby can be contacted at 791-6363 or at:

bquimby@pressherald.com

 

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