BRUNSWICK
Police retrieved two Brunswick teenagers Sunday from an island in the rainswollen Androscoggin River after the pair jumped from the Topsham side of the Swinging Bridge only to realize the river was running too hard to return to shore.
The pair, not identified by authorities, scrambled onto an island downstream of the bridge where they waited for rescue.
Brunswick Police Deputy Chief Marc Hagan said Monday that, due to the current’s strength, “they were concerned about trying to swim back after they got to the island.”
Police received the distress call at 1:30 p.m. and sent the department’s airboat to pick up the youths. Neither was injured and no charges were filed, Hagan said.
That section of river is popular with thrill-seeking youths, especially when springtime rains and winter melt-off combine to boost the river’s depth and flow.
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