Bowdoinham, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - With the canoe and boating season getting underway in earnest in Maine, officials with the Maine Marine Patrol are urging people to use caution and common sense before hitting the water.

Yesterday rescuers recovered the body of a 32-year old man from Portland after his canoe capsized on the Cathance River in Bowdoinham the night before. An autopsy was expected to be performed today on the body of Santana Dubon. Investigators believe he drowned.

When Dubon's canoe capsized Saturday evening his wife and another relative swam to shore, but he dropped out of sight. Divers made the grim discovery of his body the next day.

Officials with the Maine Marine Patrol say Dubon was not wearing a life jacket, a similarity with other drownings they have investigated this year. In 3 out of the 4 drowning deaths they have investigated this year, the victims were not wearing life jackets.

There is no telling for sure if a life jacket would have saved any of the drowning victims, but chances for survival increase dramatically if you are wearing one.

" If you have a life jacket it helps you maintain body heat, allows you to float, keeps you up out of the water a little higher in the water, keeps you drier and allows you to use less effort to keep yourself afloat", said Sgt. Rob Beal of the Maine Marine Patrol.

Officials with the marine patrol say the worst part of the job is having to notify relatives that someone has died out on the water. They say common sense and some basic steps can go a long way towards preventing that from happening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS CENTER