Henry Brooks, a father from Hope, in Maine, has died after drowning in a pond. The 46-year-old man was trying to save his two daughters. The two girls are 12 and 13.
The Maine Warden Service says that the tragic incident occurred at Ayer Park on Seven Tree Pond in Union at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two children were swimming when one of them was pulled into deep waters, according to witnesses.
The other child then tried to save her sister but ended up falling into the deep area of the pond. This is near the place where it joins with a local river.
Brooks, who was there with his 27-year-old son, immediately jumped in and tried to save his daughters. His son did the same thing too. However, he had time to put on a life jacket.
Officials shared with CBS News: “Brooks, who was sitting at a picnic table watching his daughters, saw what occurred, heard their cries for help, and jumped into the water to rescue them.”
The brother managed to save his sisters. However, he was not able to find his dad while looking back. People from the Game Wardens, Union Fire and Rescue, and Knox County Sheriff’s Office were called and started a search, but they could not locate the father.
The Maine Warden Dive Team was able to recover the body of Henry Brooks 50 feet off the shore at 7:30 p.m. on the same day. The remains were taken to the funeral home in Waldoboro.
The two daughters spent the night in observation at the Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport. The tragic death of Henry Brooks has saddened the entire community, and many are calling him a hero.
Many have taken to social media to express their sorrow and pay tribute to the heroic dad.
The son is also being applauded for his quick thinking and the way he was able to save his sisters. The Maine Warden Service shared in a statement: “The son was able to swim to his sisters and bring them back to safety at a nearby dock, but when he looked back for his father, he could not find him.”
It continued by saying that Brooks was found “approximately 50 feet from shore in water that was seven feet deep, not far from the dock where his son brought the daughters to safety.”
Some locals have pointed out that several drownings have happened in this area and say it might not be the safest spot for a swim.
Moreover, all the rain in the month of June made lakes and rivers slightly more dangerous in the state of Maine. Caution is needed more than ever.
Mark Latti, who is a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, told the Bangor Daily News: “This year, with all the rain, areas where there’s currents sometimes can be a little more treacherous than they would be during a normal summer, or a dry summer. People should be taking extra caution during high water, because it is a little bit different.”
According to the CDC, there are over 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings in the United States every year.
The numbers suggest that wearing a life jacket can make a significant difference.
