A Maine man has died while swimming after a boat that was drifting away on a Belgrade pond, the second such case in just three months.
Robert Gary was trying to retrieve his 12-foot aluminum motorboat on Ellis Pond after it began floating away from the Spaulding Point boat launch on Wednesday.
Gary, 66, of Oakland, went under and did not resurface, a witness told police, according to NewsCenterMaine.
Gary’s body was found approximately 35 yards from shore in about four feet of water.
The tragic drowning case is reminiscent of a similar drowning in June in Nobleboro’s Damariscotta Lake.
In that case Richard Eason, 74, drowned after his boat began drifting into the lake just as he launched it.
Eason swam about 75 yards trying to catch the runaway vessel but went under and never came up.
His body was recovered in about 15 feet of water.
