Two people are presumed to have drowned on Messalonskee Lake in Belgrade and divers were planning to search for them Monday night, according to the Maine Warden Service.
Mark Latti, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, said that wardens responded to a call Monday between noon and 1 p.m. for a “swimming-related presumed double drowning.”
The incident was reported in an area off state Route 8, near Greeley Island, off the lake in north Belgrade.
The individuals officials were searching for have been identified by authorities as Brandon Breton, 21, of Vassalboro and Joseph Mayo, 19, of Rome. They were swimming with two other male friends off a pontoon boat.
A strong gust of wind pushed the boat away from the swimmers, according to a release later in the afternoon from the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.
Two of the men swam to the boat, but Breton and Mayo “went under and never resurfaced,” the department said.
The Maine Warden Service set up at the Sidney boat launch on Messalonskee Lake. Wardens were searching the water by boat and plane for Breton and Mayo. The Maine Forest Service’s helicopter and crews from Belgrade, Oakland and Sidney fire departments were also assisting on scene.
The Maine Warden Service dive team was heading to the scene Monday late afternoon to start searching the area with divers by Monday evening, officials said.
Greeley Island is one of four islands in Messalonskee Lake, which is bordered by the towns of Belgrade, Oakland and Sidney. The Messalonskee Boat Launch in Sidney is off of Hosta Lane, accessed via state Route 23 or Pond Road.
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