Father drowns in pond while trying to rescue his two daughters in Maine

A Maine man has drowned in a pond while trying to rescue his daughters, the Maine Warden Service said.

Henry Brooks, 46, of Hope, was at Seven Tree Pond in Union on Saturday afternoon watching his 12- and 13-year-old daughters swim when one of them fell into deeper water where the river enters the pond, the warden service said. The other daughter also fell into the deeper water trying to rescue her sister and both were swept out to even deeper areas of the pond.

"Brooks, who was sitting at a picnic table watching his daughters, saw what occurred and heard their cries for help, and jumped into the water to rescue them," officials said.

Brooks was followed by his 27-year-old son, who grabbed a life jacket, the warden service said. The son swam to his sisters and brought them back to a nearby dock. When he looked back, he could not find his father, the warden service said.

Game wardens, fire and rescue crews and the local sheriff's office searched the area by boat and foot but were unable to find Brooks. Three Maine Warden Service divers recovered Brooks' body at about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday approximately 50 feet from shore, not far from the dock.

Brooks was brought to Halls Funeral Home in Waldoboro. The children were brought to PenBay Medical Center in Rockport where they stayed overnight for observation.

The incident marks the latest recent drowning by an adult trying to save a child. 

Last week, a Chicago-area man died after he jumped from a boat into Lake Michigan to help at least one child who fell off a raft, his family and officials said. Just days before that, a man drowned after rescuing two children who got into trouble while swimming at an eastern Pennsylvania state park, authorities said. 

Last month, a Kansas doctor saved his daughter when she became trapped by their overturned raft in a rushing Colorado river, but was unable to save himself. Also in June, a  firefighter drowned while trying to rescue his child from a rip current at the Jersey Shore.

In:
• Drowning
• Maine