BRISTOL, Maine — An elderly man was in critical condition on Friday at Maine Medical Center in Portland after what sheriff’s deputies describe as “a tragic swimming accident” Thursday evening at the Bristol Mills Dam.
The man, whose name has not been released until officials are certain his family has been notified, was found facedown in the water, unresponsive and without a pulse, Lt. Rand Maker of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a release Friday.
A preliminary investigation found that the man was swimming near the dam in the area known as Bristol Mills near several other men, women and children before being seen facedown in the water, Maker said.
The man was removed from the water, and bystanders performed CPR until members of Bristol Fire and Rescue and the Central Lincoln County Ambulance arrived to continue CPR, along with advanced life saving techniques that then returned the man’s pulse.
He was taken to Lincoln Health Miles Campus in Damariscotta, and then by LifeFlight of Maine helicopter to Maine Medical Center.
“The information obtained during this preliminary investigation appears to support that this event is simply a tragic swimming accident,” Maker said. “It also supports that the immediate CPR started by the bystanders and the professional response by the first responders contributed to the return of a pulse and the hope of a positive outcome.”