PALERMO — A Pennsylvania man drowned this week after his kayak apparently capsized in blustery conditions on Sheepscot Pond in Palermo, the Maine Warden Service said Friday.
The body of Akshay Mamidela, 25, of Delaware Water Gap, near the border with New Jersey, was recovered by the warden service Thursday about a quarter mile from where he had been staying, according to a news release issued by the state Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.
It appears Mamidela, who was not wearing a life jacket, had taken the kayak out Wednesday night to retrieve a paddleboard that had drifted from the shore in high winds and his kayak capsized because of “extremely rough conditions,” the release said.
“Mamidela’s friend returned to the camp late that evening, noticed that both Mamidela and one of the camp’s kayaks were missing, and he called 911 at approximately 1 a.m. Thursday,” the release said.
Waldo County sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and contacted the warden service when it was determined Mamidela had been out on the lake. They searched the shoreline and surrounding areas Wednesday night but were unable to locate him.
A dive team with the warden service used sonar equipment to help find Mamidela’s body.
Palermo is on the western edge of Waldo County, about 12 miles from South China.
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