Fryeburg Police rescue stranded campers on Saco River

FRYEBURG — Police on Thursday conducted their second river rescue in three days, helping three woman and a dog stranded when the Saco River rose unexpectedly and swept their canoe away.

Fryeburg Police Chief Joshua Potvin said in a news release that dispatchers received a distress call from a 21-year-old woman around 7:15 a.m. that she and two others were stranded on the riverbank after their canoe was swept away in the middle of the night.

The woman told dispatchers she has been camping overnight with two 19-year old women and a dog and were left with a kayak. The group started their river trek at Weston’s Beach and were found near Mile 1.

“The river (rose) over 2 feet overnight which is not uncommon,” Potvin said. “These ladies were unfamiliar with the area and unprepared for the changing conditions.”

Aside from minor cuts from walking barefoot through the woods to waiting police vehicles, the women had not injuries, Potvin said.

“We were in the process of deploying our watercrafts when officers were able to access the group by vehicle and bring them to safety,” he said. “The individuals had to walk through the woods for a short ways without shoes but were in good spirits.”

[email protected]