WATERVILLE, Maine — A 20-year-old local man was taken to a nearby hospital Thursday afternoon after he was found unconscious on the banks of the Kennebec River, according to police.
Police were called to an area known as the Head of Falls around 2:15 p.m., when a passer-by spotted the man, Waterville Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey said.
Empty alcohol containers and a paint can also were found adjacent to the man, whose name was not disclosed.
When police arrived, they suspected he had been huffing paint, according to Rumsey.
“He had paint on his clothes, and he smelled of paint,” Rumsey said.
Rumsey said the man was breathing by the time an emergency medical services crew loaded him onto a stretcher. He was transported to Thayer Hospital for treatment.
The incident remains under investigation, and the man could face charges for huffing paint, which Rumsey said is illegal.
