SACO, Maine — Two police officers were injured Saturday afternoon in a boat crash as they searched for a woman who went missing in the Saco River.
Jennifer Bousquet, 38, of South Berwick went missing Saturday after the canoe she was traveling in with Wayne Demers, 62, of Somersworth, New Hampshire, and Brian Day, 54, of South Berwick flipped in the Saco River. The men made it to shore safely.
Maine game wardens continued to search the river Sunday, using dive and K-9 teams along with its aviation division, Warden Chris Cloutier said in a press release.
“River conditions are swift, high and cold making diving a challenge,” he said.
Officers Dale Stout, 51, and Nathan Desjardins, 20, of the Fryeburg Police Department were dispatched to the scene around 4 p.m. Saturday, but their boat crashed about a mile from where the canoe flipped.
“There were two Fryeburg police officers who were responding to assist as well by watercraft, and for some unknown reasons their boat crashed in the shore,” Cloutier said Saturday.
Strout sustained serious injuries while Desjardins sustained potentially life-threatening injuries. Both were flown to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
Dejardin was listed Sunday in critical condition. Strout was listed in stable condition.
Fryeburg police Chief Potvin told reporters on the scene Sunday that Dejardin had been with the department just three months. Saturday was the first time he’d been part of a water rescue, he said.
Officials spent Saturday afternoon and evening searching for the woman, but their efforts were not successful. Cloutier said on Saturday the recent rain made the search more difficult.
“The river is very high and there is a lot of debris in the river,” he said. “There’s a lot of underwater debris as well, creating a lot of obstructions that people can get caught into. We believe that [Bousquet] is probably caught in an obstruction right now.”
Cloutier added he is not sure if the people in the canoe wore life jackets, but he does believe alcohol was involved.
“We actually have mixed reports right now whether they had life jackets on or not, but there was alcohol involved. We do know that,” he said. “When the water’s cold and the water’s high, any alcohol is going to decrease your ability to react when you get wet or get into the water.”
BDN writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.