AUGUSTA — The woman who was pulled from the bottom of a swimming pool at an Augusta hotel Monday evening has been identified as Ann Scher, 71, of New York City.

Scher was initially taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center on Monday, but she was transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland Tuesday, where a hospital spokesman said she was in critical condition.

Augusta police and rescue personnel were called to the Quality Inn & Suites on Whitten Road on Monday following a report of a woman found at the bottom of the pool.

“Our prayers go out to the family,” Alec Rogers, owner and general manager of the hotel, said Tuesday.

Rogers declined to say anything other than he wanted to protect the privacy of his guests, and that members of his staff had undergone a traumatic experience.

At noontime, no one was in the pool, which is surrounded by a metal fence and a row of evergreen shrubs.

Augusta Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief John Bennett said Monday night that given the amount of water in the area — lakes, ponds and a river — his department rarely sees near-drownings or drownings in the city.

Nearly a year ago, a 2-year-old boy nearly drowned in the Kennebec River in Augusta. Sean Scanlon, who was at the riverfront and heard people yelling a child was in the water, dove in and pulled the boy, who was floating face down, out of the water. The boy’s father, Christopher J. Norwood, pleaded guilty in June to endangering the welfare of a child. If Norwood meets a set of conditions, including taking a parenting class, he will be allowed to withdraw the plea and the case will be dismissed.

Jessica Lowell — 621-5632

jlowell@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @JLowellKJ

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