A West Baldwin man drowned Monday morning when he attempted to swim ashore on Aziscohos Lake.
Michael Shields, 54, was mooring his boat in front of his Alca Flats Road camp in Lincoln Plantation about 11:30 a.m. when he attempted to swim back to shore, according to Mark Latti, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Shields was about 50 yards from shore when he went under the water and never resurfaced, Latti said late Monday night.
His wife and father-in-law, who saw Shields go under, had to drive 17 miles down a dirt road to find a landline to call for help, according to Latti. There is no cellphone service in the area.
Searchers later found Shields’ body in about 10 feet of water near the shore about 6:30 p.m.
The Maine medical examiner’s office was scheduled to perform an autopsy at the Wiles Funeral Home.
No additional information was immediately available.
Lincoln Plantation is on the Maine-New Hampshire border west of Rangeley.
