CASCO – Game wardens planned to resume searching today with planes, boats and divers for a Massachusetts man whose snowmobile plunged into Sebago Lake over the weekend.

Paul Blanco of Carlisle, Mass., and two other men were riding across the frozen lake when they encountered a stretch of open water Saturday night, said Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

“At that point, they realized that their only hope was to stay on top of the water – not stopping or slowing down,” Latti said.

The practice of gliding across open water on a snowmobile is called “skimming,” and two of the riders managed to make it across a large patch of open water. But Blanco’s snowmobile sank and there was no sign of him, Latti said.

The incident happened near Sebago State Park on the northern end of lake, Latti said.

Game wardens, alerted at about 8 p.m. Saturday, searched early into the morning. The search resumed with about 15 wardens at first light and Blanco’s snowmobile was found Sunday morning in 30 feet of water, Latti said.

Auburn accident

While game wardens were tied up with the search for Blanco, Auburn police responded to a snowmobile accident in the area of Sopers Mill Road Sunday afternoon.

According to Lt. Scott Watkins, officer Stephen Pugliese met with an injured Terence Mooney, 52, at the corner of Sopers Mill and Jordan School roads around 3 p.m.

“The actual accident occurred on a bridge about 1.5 miles in from the road,” Watkins said. “The bridge was missing a two-by-four that would normally keep both skis on the bridge.”

When Mooney attempted to cross the bridge, his front ski lacked support and both the sled and Mooney fell to the ice below, explained Watkins.

Mooney’s leg was briefly pinned under his sled, but friends were able to lift the sled off of his leg and get the snowmobile back on the trail, Watkins said.

Mooney was treated on the scene by the Auburn Fire Department and later transported to St. Mary’s Regional Hospital in Lewiston to have his leg checked out.

Bethel incident

On Saturday afternoon, Bethel police were called to the area of Davis Park for a snowmobile accident that also left a West Paris man with minor injuries to his leg.

According to Bethel police Lt. S.R. White, the man was driving on a snowmobile bridge that runs alongside Route 26 when his front ski caught part of the railing and flipped off of the bridge.

He was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway.

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