FAIRFIELD — Maine State Police are investigating the death of a Fairfield woman who drowned Tuesday afternoon in the Kennebec River.
Amber Cobb, 31, was recovered from the river around 3 p.m. Tuesday by Fairfield police and fire crews and game wardens, said Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland.
She was pronounced dead at MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Thayer Unit in Waterville.
An autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
The state police role “is to assist Fairfield in determining how and where she got in the water,” McCausland said Tuesday night.
“We’re going to be doing some interviews, consult with the medical examiner’s office, and we may have more tomorrow once the autopsy has been completed,” he said.
Cobb went into the water near the Shawmut Dam. McCausland said he was not sure where or how she went in, but said the recovery took place near the Fairfield Family Apartments on U.S. Route 201, which is Skowhegan Road in the area. He said Cobb was a resident of the apartment complex.
Several police cars and firetrucks were parked on Tuesday afternoon at a nearby house at 160 Skowhegan Road, and emergency responders had hiked across a set of railroad tracks and down a steep embankment to reach the river.
Cobb was taken from the riverbank to the boat landing near the Fairfield Community Center after a half-hour search of the river.
Fairfield Police Chief Tom Gould said the department asked for state police help in determining what happened because they did not have the resources to do their own investigation. The drowning was reported around 1:45 p.m. and officers were still at the scene at 6 p.m.
Jeff Douglass, who lives at 160 Skowhegan Road, said that area of the river, which is close to the Shawmut Dam, is a popular fishing and swimming spot.
A man and young child who appeared to have been with Cobb were also at the scene and were being interviewed by game wardens.
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