A man from Milford drowned Friday night after the ATV he was riding in broke through the ice, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.
Floyd Hardison, 88, drowned after he spent Friday ice fishing with his son and two grandsons on Spring River Lake in Hancock County. After packing their gear, the group was riding back to their parked vehicles about 6 p.m. when the side-by-side ATV that Hardison was riding in broke through the ice, according to a statement Saturday from Mark Latti, MDIFW communications director.
The vehicle was about 400 yards from shore. A grandson, who was driving, was able to free himself from the sinking ATV and get onto the ice, but Hardison was unable to get himself out.
Maine Game Wardens, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and Franklin and Sullivan fire departments responded to the scene. About 8:25 p.m., a fire department member in a wetsuit retrieved Hrdison’s body, Latti said. He had been in about 10 feet of water, sinking to the bottom of the lake with the ATV.
Friday’s drowning is not the first this winter.
On Jan. 26, the town manager of Carmel and his 4-year-old son broke through the ice when walking on Etna Pond in Penobscot County. Kevin Howell, 51, was able to lift his son on the ice and told the boy to run home to get his mother, about a third of a mile away. Howell was unable to get out of the icy water and drowned.
The next day, five people, including three children, were rescued from Moose Pond in Denmark after their side-by-side ATV broke through the ice. The five people were in 7 feet of water and survived by standing on the roof of the vehicle until help arrived. Safety officials said the three children and two adults were extremely lucky that residents in a nearby home heard their cries and called 911.
Safety officials have warned that this winter’s rain and warm temperatures have created treacherous ice in certain areas. Officials have encouraged people to check to make sure that there’s at least 4 to 6 inches of hard ice before venturing out.
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