RUMFORD – Two days after an icy plunge into the Androscoggin River, snowmobiler Michael Thurston, 21, of Rumford Point was back home resting Monday.
According to Thurston’s mother, Karen Cole, friends Dick Bonnell, Thaddeus Bennett, Matt Roy and Spencer Couture, all of Rumford, were the first to reach Thurston, who had spent nearly an hour in the frigid water Saturday afternoon.
The ordeal began when Thurston and friend, Benjamin Hodgkins, 19, of Roxbury were riding snowmobiles to trails in Mexico and decided to take the river to shorten the trip. Thurston took the lead, though the two were within sight of one another. After Hodgkins saw Thurston’s sled hit open water, he raced back to Thurston’s house to call 911.
Thurston was taken to a Lewiston hospital for treatment.
“Michael would like to thank his friends Dick, Thaddeus, Matt, Spencer, Jade Gianfort, Jason McPherson, his brother Matt and anyone else who helped pull him out of the water,” Cole said.
Thurston was unavailable for comment.
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