Two brothers from southern Maine survived a close call after their canoe was swamped in rough weather on a remote lake in northern Maine on Monday night, the Maine Warden Service said.
Larry Fiori, 70, of Kennebunk and Michael Fiori, 67, of Brunswick were fishing on Umsaskis Lake on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Aroostook County and began to motor back to shore at 8 p.m. as inclement weather set in, the warden service said. Water quickly began to fill the canoe, putting both men in the water. Neither was wearing a life jacket.
The two got separated in the water. Michael Fiori made it to shore, where he was assisted by a group of Boy Scouts who were camping nearby and heard his calls. Larry Fiori was unable to make it to shore for about two hours, and held onto a floating portion of a life jacket and a fuel tank that was used for the outboard motor.
With no cellphone service at the lake, an emergency call was made two hours after the canoe swamped, and Maine Warden Service and Ashland Ambulance personnel responded.
According to the warden service, Larry Fiori eventually made it to shore and was taken to Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital in Presque Isle, where he was treated for hypothermia.
Dora Anne Mills, Michael Fiori’s ex-wife, spoke with him by phone Tuesday and said that Larry Fiori was recovering and expected to be discharged from the hospital Wednesday.
Mills, the sister of Gov. Janet Mills, said both men are “seasoned fishermen” who got caught off guard by a sudden squall. Water temperatures are dangerously cold at this time of the year, said Dora Anne Mills, a doctor who is a former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“They are very, very lucky,” she said in a phone interview Tuesday night.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey contributed to this report.
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