The Body of Carmel Town Manager Recovered From Etna Pond

Carmel's Town Manager died after saving his 4-year-old son when they went through the ice and then his wife fell through while trying to save her husband.

How Did Authorities Learn of This?

It was approximately 6:40 Friday morning when the Penobscot Regional Communications Center received a report of one or more people who may have gone through the ice. Members of several agencies spent the day searching for the man's body, which was finally recovered at around 2:00 Friday afternoon.

Have Officials Released the Identity of the Deceased?

Mark Latti with the Maine Marine Patrol says the deceased has been identified as Kevin Howell, 51, of Carmel. Howell was the Town Manager in Carmel.

What Happened?

Officials say Mr. Howell had gone for a walk this morning with his four-year-old son when both of them broke through the ice as they were crossing a portion of Etna Pond at approximately 630 Friday morning. They fell through the house about 1/3 of a mile from their house. Howell was able to get his son out of the water and onto the ice and told the child to run home and tell his mother, which he did. She told the child to stay at home and called 911 as she rushed to help her husband. She grabbed an anchor and a rope and ran down to the water.

When she reached the shore, she secured the rope and then went to help her husband, but ended up breaking through the ice, as well. Hard as she tried, she was unable to get back out.

Penobscot Sheriff's Detective Jordan Norton was in the area when he heard the 911 call from the Regional Communications Center. When he arrived at the home, he saw the wife in the water, and began crawling across the treacherous ice, holding onto the rope. Norton was able to to pull the mother out of the ice and get her to shore. He then began looking for her husband but couldn't find any trace of him. He took the Mom back to the house and reunited her with her son.

Members of the Maine Warden Service and the Carmel Fire Department, as well as a State Police diver worked together to search for Mr. Howell. Divers went into the water at around 1:40 in the afternoon and located him a little before 2.

We'll update this story as more details become available.