A 74-year-old Florida man drowned on a lake in midcoast Maine on Friday afternoon while swimming after his boat that had drifted away from shore.
The drowning happened at around 1:45 p.m., after Richard Eason — who is from Ocala, Florida but has a home on Damariscotta Lake — had launched his boat from the Vannah Road Boat launch in Nobleboro and pulled it to shore, according to Mark Latti, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
While Eason was parking his truck, he noticed that the wind was carrying his boat off the shore and toward the center of the lake, Latti said. According to witnesses, Eason then jumped into the water and swam after the boat as it continued to drift away from him.
“Witnesses stated that after Eason swam approximately 75 yards, he went under the water and never resurfaced,” said Latti, who added that Eason was not wearing a life jacket.
After area firefighters were unable to find Eason, the Maine Warden Service sent a dive team that recovered his body at around 7 p.m., in about 15 feet of water
Eason was taken to Hall Funeral Home in Waldoboro.
Nobleboro and Damariscotta first responders and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Maine Warden Service with the drowning.