A man who apparently drowned last week off Bar Island in Acadia National Park has been identified as a restaurant worker from Maryland, according to his friends and family.
A Bar Harbor police summary report on the incident, which started on Jan. 28 as a rescue effort after the man had reportedly been trapped on the island by the incoming tide, identified the man as Christian Leveron, 24, of Annapolis.
Leveron’s body was found in the water off Bar Island on the morning of Jan. 29, according to the Bar Harbor Police Department’s media summary report.
The Maryland man went missing while hiking the evening of Jan. 28, instigating a multi agency search throughout that night.
An investigation by the National Park Service is underway.
Leveron was a server at Level, a restaurant in Annapolis, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
“We recently lost a beloved member of our extended Level family and local community in a tragic accident,” a Facebook post from Level restaurant says. “Christian made a huge impact on everyone he met and the world around him. His connection to Annapolis runs deep and we are so lucky to have had him in our lives. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.”
A GoFundMe page set up by a family member of Leveron has raised over $18,000 over the past six days.
“Christian was more than family — he was a best friend, a source of laughter, and someone who always showed up for the people he loved,” the GoFundMe says. “Whether it was his humor, his generosity , or simply the way he cared so deeply for others, he made a lasting impact on everyone lucky enough to know him.”
Leveron’s identity as last week’s drowning victim was first reported by a local blog’s Facebook page, Acadia National Park on My Mind.
An autopsy to confirm Leveron’s cause of death is currently underway, according to the Maine Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
Two women in Bar Harbor said they heard a man calling for help from Bar Island late on the afternoon of Jan. 28, according to the Bar Harbor Story. A woman replied to the man, who she presumed to be stranded on the island, that she would call for help.
Bar Island is known for occasionally stranding visitors unfamiliar with the area’s tide conditions. A sandy land bridge connects the island to Bar Harbor’s downtown for around three hours a day, before and after low tide. Outside of those hours, high tide covers the bridge and leaves anyone left on Bar Island stranded for nine hours.
High tide crested at approximately 6:30 p.m. and temperatures dropped to about 10 degrees Fahrenheit the evening Leveron went missing, according to the National Weather Service.
In a Facebook tribute to Leveron posted Feb. 1, his father, the owner of a Maryland landscaping company, spoke of his son’s generosity and the “void” left by his passing.
“To talk about Christian would be to start writing a script that would never end,” the father wrote on Facebook. “He was rebellious, fearless, and always wanted to live his life to the fullest, as if perhaps he knew he wouldn’t last long. Christian will always be remembered as the life of the party; he was always at the service of others, helping his friends and anyone he could. This desire to always help is what led him to this place where he spent his last moments. He drove 12 hours to help a friend.”
Leveron’s brother responded to an inquiry from the Bangor Daily News but declined to comment.
Several of Leveron’s friends have shared the family’s GoFundMe on Facebook, fondly remembering the 24-year-old for his humour and storytelling. Many posts mused on the shock of his loss.
Leveron grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, and graduated from Northeast High School in 2020, his friend and classmate Lexi Aburn said. He was a “social butterfly,” loved by people and animals alike, and a loyal friend. He also had an immaculate taste in footwear, Aburn said.
“He made me feel seen, and he had my back, meaning he stuck up for me when everybody was bullying me,” Aburn said. “I wasn’t the cool person, but he made me feel cool. He would take time out of his day to make sure I was doing okay.”