CHARLOTTE, Maine — A 10-year-old boy was rescued from Washington County’s Round Lake Sunday afternoon after a canoe he was playing in slipped away from a dock, leaving him adrift without a paddle or a life jacket.
According to Charlotte Fire Chief Danna Hatton, a neighbor became aware of the situation and called 911 just before 1 p.m.
“He was out a good ways, and it appears he got excited and jumped out, which upset the canoe,” Hatton said. “He is a strong swimmer, but he couldn’t swim ashore, as the wind may have been against him. So he treaded water and floated while his mother and stepfather watched from shore.”
A rescue boat shared by Charlotte Fire & Rescue and the Meddybemps Fire Department was rushed to the scene from Meddybemps, a distance of about 10 miles. Charlotte Assistant Fire Chief Vince Day and Capt. George Cross launched the boat and fished the boy from the pond.
Hatton said the boy was in the water for about 20 minutes before being rescued.
Once on shore, the boy was examined by paramedics and was found to be uninjured.
I bet the boy will be a lot more careful in the future ………………. glad he is OK ………………………….I bet before he gets into another canoe, he will make sure that there is at least a paddle and life vest.
Before the bubble wrap group get on their high horses and start their, where was ………. and he could have been ……………….. he wasn’t and he probably learned a valuable lesson.
these things happen, my kayak sank in the middle of a lake when i was younger, luckily i was able to swim ashore because i had a life preserver.
kudos to the fire department and emergency services on their fast response and actions which probably stopped a bad situation from being a catastrophic one.
You mean to tell me there weren’t any other boats on this lake? And you had to wait for rescue to travel 10 miles? No other cottages? docks with kayaks, canoes, fishing boats, power boats?! Nothing?!!
Nevermind that Maine Girl, his mother and stepfather stood on shore and watched! I had to go back and read that again! Glad the little guy is safe and sound now, but really, how could a parent just watch?
Maybe they couldn’t swim and it said he was quite a ways out, but I would be frantically looking for some kind of flotation to start out to help him.
There is a very good chance there were no other boats,etc, on the pond. For all the times I’ve gone past, it’s a normal occurrence not to see anyone out here on the water, just a few swimmers on a very small beach roadside.There’s also not many camps. And to change the subject slightly: After all these years of living near Round POND, I am glad to see that it’s been upgraded to a “lake”. A sign of the times, I guess.
Actually, it’s official name has been Round Lake since at least 1953…according to the Maine lake survey maps.
However, I have never heard anybody call it anything but Round Pond.
Glad the boy made it out ok…if it were one of my children I would have been in the water immediately.
I am a really strong swimmer (lots of practice swimming across Big Lake when I was growing up)…but even if I was not a great swimmer….I would have found something that floats and started kicking my way out there.
Again, glad everything worked out ok.
Actually, there are quite a few camps on that stretch and they do have boats.
very few of us can afford boats in Washington County, we’re lucky that a rescue service could afford one around here.
They could have got to him sooner, but every rescue worker in the State was just returning after dragging a 900 pound, out of shape dog down off a freakin mountain where it’s owners thought it’d be cute to take fun family pictures with it!
Kudos to the boy for being such a good swimmer! Someone taught him well and it probably saved his life.
The pond’s official name is Round Lake but all the locals call it Round Pond. There are a few year round homes on the pond and a few camps, but not very many boats on this small pond. Kudos to our wonderful Charlotte Volunteer Fire & Rescue for being so quick to respond to the call, as they always do, and avoiding what could have been a terrible tragedy. We are very lucky to have such a dedicated group of volunteers. They spend many hours training and raising money to keep our dept equipped with the tools necessary to keep us safe.
the link goes to some retarded sales/virus website. don’t click on it.
flagged.
BDN, please ban shaochuda
Actually, there are quite a few camps along that stretch, and they do have boats.
I don’t care if you are Micheal Phelps, wear a life jacket!
And why was he allowed to “play in” a canoe without a life jacket?? Recently, there was a story about a young child leaving his home (for the second time since May) and DHS was called and the father was charged with endangering the welfare of a child……..I know the 2 stories aren’t related, but, this seems to be more dangerous than a child leaving a home…….