WILTON – A Farmington man drowned after diving from a pontoon boat on Wilson Lake Tuesday evening.
Jeffrey Mitchell, 63, of Farmington, had been boating with a friend, Martha Martin of Wilton, with plans to go swimming, according to Cpl. John MacDonald, a spokesman for the Maine Warden Service.
“Mitchell dove from his pontoon boat into the water and surfaced struggling. Martin attempted to help Mitchell to the boat without success,” MacDonald said in a new release Wednesday.
Martin was aided by two nearby kayakers and another boater and together were able to remove Mitchell from the water and transport him by watercraft to a nearby boat landing where they were met by medical personnel.
Mitchell was pronounced dead at the scene.
Emergency crews were called 6:36 p.m. Tuesday evening. Responding were Maine game wardens, Wilton Fire & Rescue and the Wilton Police Department personnel.
Proper personal floatation devices (PFD) were located in Mitchell’s pontoon boat, however he was not wearing a PFD at the time of the incident, MacDonald said.
The incident remains under investigation.
