A Hope man drowned Saturday afternoon while trying to rescue his daughters on a Union pond.
Henry Brooks, 46, was watching his 12- and 13-year-old daughters swimming in Seven Tree Pond at Ayer Park about 4:30 p.m. when one of his daughters fell into deeper water where a river runs into the pond, according to Mark Latti, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
His other daughter attempted to rescue her sister, but she also fell into the deeper water and both were swept out by the current farther into the pond, Latti said Sunday morning.
Hearing their cries for help, Brooks jumped into the water followed by his 27-year-old son, who grabbed a lifejacket.
The son was able to reach his sisters and bring them to safety at a nearby dock. When he looked back, he could not see his father, according to Latti.
Game wardens, Knox County sheriff’s deputies and first responders from Union searched the area unsuccessfully for Brooks.
Maine Warden Service divers recovered Brooks’ body about 50 feet from shore in water seven feet deep, not far from the dock where his son brought the girls.
Brooks’ body was taken to Halls Funeral Home in Waldoboro, while his daughters and son were taken to PenBay Medical Center in Rockport for evaluation.
No additional information was immediately released.
