Two divers surface from the Cathance River on Sunday in what ended up being nearly a 16-hour search that began around 7:30 p.m. Saturday for 32-year-old Santana Garcia Dubon of Portland. Dubon went missing after the canoe he was in with his wife and another woman capsized. Both women made it to shore but Dubon did not. (Bonnie Shippen photo)
The intense search began at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday when the Maine Marine Patrol, Bowdoinham and Topsham fire and EMS personnel, Topsham Police Department and Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s Department responded to a call that a canoeist was missing.
On foot and in two boats, they scoured both sides of the bridge spanning the Cathance on Route 24.
When darkness set in and the spotlights turned up no sign of Dubon, the Marine Patrol pulled the boats and dimmed the lights while a U.S. Coast Guard MH-60T Jay- hawk helicopter from Cape Cod scanned the river with infrared cameras.
At 5 a.m. Sunday, Maine State Police dive teams and a Maine Marine Patrol plane again set to work hoping to find some sign of the man.
Nearly 12 hours later, divers recovered Dubon’s body, approximately 50 yards downstream from the canoe’s last known location, Maine Marine Patrol Sgt. Daniel White said at the town landing, also known as Phillip Mailly Waterfront Park. He confirmed that there were no life jackets in the boat.
White said the murky waters of the Cathance left divers unable to see more than 6 inches to a foot in front of them, but using “side-scan SONAR” throughout the day Sunday finally led them to his location.
Seth Berry of Bowdoinham, who represents District 67 in the Maine State Senate, arrived Saturday evening and then stopped throughout the day on Sunday to translate for Dubon’s family, who is originally from El Salvador, Berry said.
He said they told him that while they were fishing Saturday night, “At some point Santana stood up to turn around and the boat pitched” and the three fell into the water.
They clung to the canoe for a while, Berry said, but it became clear that Dubon’s wife “was not doing very well and had swallowed a lot of water. It was a very wide section of the river and the current was carrying them. Santana said (to the woman), ‘Take my wife, take her, help her swim to the shore, I’m OK,’” Berry said, and so the two women “barely” made their way to the river’s edge.
“When they got to the mudflat and got Gladys up on the mud, they couldn’t see him or the canoe,” Berry said. “They called and called, and then started walking.”
Call for help
When they neared the landing, the women found someone with a working cell phone and called for help, triggering the approximately 16-hour search.
Throughout the day on Sunday, Gabon’s family gathered to watch for the missing man. Several members ate lunch at The Town Landing restaurant, then returned to huddle together on the bridge and watch the search.
A Marine Patrol plane circled endlessly throughout the day, refueling at least three times, White said.
Bowdoinham has gathered before at the landing to search for someone missing in the Cathance, and people here know how to support each other.
“This is what Bowdoinham does,” said Lynn Spiro, owner of The Town Landing restaurant. “This is what makes it the great town that it is. All it takes is a phone call.”
Saturday night, the fire department’s ladies’ auxiliary brought coffee, sandwiches and chips to the search scene. At quarter of three on Sunday, Spiro walked down from the restaurant with a frosted chocolate cake, frozen Snickers bars and Mississippi Mud ice cream sandwiches.
“I heard the boats come in and figured it was a good time to come down,” she said.
As many as a dozen divers rotated in and out of boats throughout the day to search the short stretch of river, refilling air tanks from a Bowdoin Fire Department truck while rescue workers milled about hoping to find some way to help.
“I can’t say enough about the Bowdoinham Fire Department,” White said, also noting the assistance of other area departments, Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s Cpl. Ian Alexander and the Coast Guard helicopter unit.
Just after Dubon’s family left the waterside Sunday night, Berry shook hands with White, and said he couldn’t be more proud of the area he represents.
“This is really typical of Bowdoinham, and of Bowdoin — their whole (fire) squad, and so many from around the state and county. I’m just really proud of our community.”
bbrogan@timesrecord.com
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