A Hope man drowned Saturday while trying to rescue his daughters from Seven Tree Pond in Union, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Divers from the Maine Warden Service recovered the body of Henry Brooks, 46, on Saturday night.
Brooks was with his family at Ayer Park watching his daughters, 12 and 13 years old, swim in the water around 4:30 p.m. when one of the girls fell into deeper water where the river enters the pond. The other daughter tried to rescue her sister, but she also fell into the deeper water.
Both were swept out by the currents to an even deeper portion of the pond, according to a statement released Sunday from Mark Latti of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Brooks was sitting at a picnic table when he saw his daughters in trouble and heard their cries for help. Brooks jumped into the water to try to save them, followed by his 27-year-old son, who grabbed a life jacket.
The son was able to swim to his sisters and brought them safely to a nearby dock, but when he looked back for their father, he couldn’t find him, Latti said.
Game wardens, Union Fire and Rescue, and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene and searched the area by boat and foot, but were unable to locate Brooks.
Three Maine Warden Service divers were then called, and at approximately 7:30 p.m., they found Brooks about 50 feet from shore – not far from the dock where his son brought the girls to safety, according to Latti.
Authorities also believe that higher-than-usual water levels from recent heavy rainfall contributed to the accident, said Union Assistant Fire Chief Jesse Thompson.
Brooks was brought to Halls Funeral Home in Waldoboro.
His daughters and son were taken to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, where they remained for observation Saturday night.
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