HOWLAND (AP) – Anyone seen a missing dock? If you have you should call Howland’s town offices. They think theirs was swept downstream.

While theft hasn’t been ruled out, town officials suspect unusually high and strong Piscataquis River currents tore the dock loose about 200 feet above the Howland dam Tuesday and sent it over the dam into the Penobscot River.

Gerard St. Cyr, who owns a variety store opposite the dock, said that in his years operating The Corner Store, he has never seen the dock ripped away.

“I was amazed at what the force of the river can do,” St. Cyr said Wednesday. “The thing was tied down pretty well, so I was kind of surprised.”

First Selectman Frank Kirsch visited the scene Wednesday and was due to meet with other town officials to discuss the town’s response.

A mainstay for Howland-area tourists, the dock gets almost daily use from boaters and fishermen who visit the area in search of a fishing spot to hook bass and the occasional salmon, St. Cyr said.

While the loss of the dock might seem dryly amusing especially since no one was reported hurt, its impact upon town business could be severe, St. Cyr said.

“I think they are going to have to take some immediate action,” he said. “That dock is used all the time by tourists and visitors … It’s very important to our business and business in town.”

Town officials told St. Cyr that they were probing whether town insurance policies covered the loss and how the state could help replace the dock.

National Weather Service officials forecast heavy rains through Thursday, with possible flooding and fast moving waters along the Kennebec, Penobscot and Androscoggin rivers.