Fryeburg police said they launched their first rescue operation of the summer boating season when they tracked down a man who got lost while canoeing on the Saco River on Tuesday.

A 22-year-old Massachusetts man called 911 to say he was lost on the river and his cellphone battery was almost dead, police said. Dispatch lost contact with the man but was able to approximate his location based on the cellphone signal.

Fryeburg police and staff from the nearby Fiddlehead Campground searched and police found the man on a beach 45 minutes after his initial call.

Police took the occasion to remind boaters to plan their route, keep track of where they are on the river and to inform family or friends of the planned route.


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