A city supervisor drowned Friday — however not earlier than rescuing his 4-year-old son after they each plunged by means of the ice of a Maine pond.
Kevin Howell, 51, and his son Sawyer had been on an early morning stroll throughout a portion of Etna Pond when the ice collapsed beneath their weight, in keeping with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Workplace.
Howell heaved Sawyer out of the frigid waters, instructing him to run the 0.3 miles again to their Carmel home and get his mom.
The teen heroically made the journey to his mom, who known as 911 and rushed to assist her husband, grabbing an anchor and cord on the best way, police stated.
After securing the rope to shore and racing throughout the ice to achieve Howell, the spouse then tragically broke by means of the ice herself and was unable to get out.
Luckily, the Penobscot sheriff arrived shortly after and efficiently rescued Howell’s spouse by crawling throughout the ice and utilizing the identical rope she had mounted moments earlier.
Howell, nonetheless, had vanished beneath the floor.
His physique was recovered by divers shortly earlier than 2 p.m., simply 20 minutes after they entered the water and practically 8 hours after Howell broke by means of the ice.
On the time of his loss of life, Howell was serving because the city supervisor for Carmel, a city practically 100 miles northeast of Lewiston.
He had held the place since 2015 and was awarded a number of accolades for his work on the town authorities, together with the city Management award in 2020, in keeping with Carmel’s web site.
A number of city staff modified their Fb profile photos to a picture of the city’s emblem, together with a black ribbon to symbolize mourning, within the hours following the tragedy.
Howell additionally served as a member of Maine’s second EMS Blue Ribbon Fee.
“Mr. Howell was a visionary for his group’s improvement of a regional EMS system. We’re very appreciative of his assist for the Maine Bureau of EMS, the state of Maine and the kindness he confirmed his group and colleagues. Our deepest sympathies to his buddies and his household,” Maine EMS stated in a press release.
Etna Pond Etna Pond covers about 361 acres and has a depth of 12 toes and is a well-liked spot for ice fishing and skating.