Fisherman drowns while checking thickness of icy lake in Maine

10 month ago

Millinocket news, Maine news.

A fisherman drowned and his friend needed medical assistance after they both fell through ice into the frigid water of a Maine lake on Friday.

Authorities identified the deceased fisherman as 62-year-old Walter Demmons. The Milford resident was with a friend on an ice fishing trip in Quakish Lake, testing the thickness of ice when it suddenly cracked under their feet.

The men ended up in the water nearly 75 yards away from the shore.

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  • Demmons reportedly told his friend that he wouldn’t make it to the shore before vanishing under the surface.

    The surviving fisherman called 911 once on shore. He suffered hypothermia but received treatment shortly later.

    Demmons’ body was located an hour later and recovered with an ice rescue raft belonging to the Brownville Fire Department.