Rescuers on site in Maine after a father died after rescuing his son from an icy pond. (Credit: Maine Warden Service)
CARMEL, Maine – A Maine father drowned after rescuing his 4-year-old son when they both fell through the ice.
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The Maine Warden Service said 51-year-old Kevin Howell went for a walk with his son when they crossed a portion of Etna Pond.
That’s when the ice cracked and they both plunged into the icy water.
Authorities said Howell was able to get his son out of the water and onto a sheet of ice. The boy was able to run home and tell his mother, and she called 911 before rushing to help her husband using an anchor and a rope.
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Watch: Quick-thinking officer rescues child from partially frozen pond in Arkansas
The wife also fell through the ice while trying to rescue her husband.
First responders quickly arrived and were able to rescue the wife from the water, but they could not find the husband.
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Child rescued from frozen pond by quick-thinking Arkansas officer
A quick-thinking police officer has been praised after he crawled onto a partially frozen pond to rescue a child who had fallen in. (Credit: Jonesboro Police Department via Storyful)
After more crews were called in to help, Howell’s body was located.
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Howell was a town manager for Carmel.
Howell’s biography on the Town of Carmel website says he and his wife moved to Carmel in 2014 and that in his spare time he enjoyed woodworking, expanding his family hobby farm and outdoor sporting activities. He was also described as being an “avid cook.”
In addition to being town manager, Howell was involved in the state’s Emergency Medical Services as a member of the second EMS Blue Ribbon Commission.
“Mr. Howell was a visionary for his community’s development of a regional EMS system,” Maine EMS posted to Facebook. “We are very appreciative of his support for the Maine Bureau of EMS, the state of Maine and the kindness he showed his community and colleagues. Our deepest sympathies to his friends and his family.”
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The Associated Press and FOX News contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
An image from Michael T. Fay’s Facebook page shows him in front of the location on Allen Avenue in Portland, one of the franchises ordered closed. (Facebook screenshot)
Eight Subway locations closed last week by state regulators have reopened.
MTF Subway franchise owner Michael T. Fay has confirmed that all of his franchise locations in Maine are open for business, following the closure of eight of them last Wednesday.
Maine Revenue Services ordered what it characterized as “several” Subway locations closed for “for noncompliance with Part 3, 36 M.R.S.A.,” which primarily governs Maine’s sales and use tax.
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The agency did not elaborate and would only reiterate Monday that, “Due to confidentiality requirements, MRS cannot comment on individual tax situations.”
In an email to the Sun Journal on Monday, Fay confirmed that eight of his locations were affected by the ordered closures, after the state revoked the registration certificates for each location.
Fay stated that none of his employees were laid off by the company.
MTF Subway locations affected:
Blue Hill
Brunswick
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Hampden
Lisbon Falls
Portland
Topsham
Westbrook
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Wiscasset
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A long-time journalist, Christopher got his start with Armed Forces Radio & Television after college. Seventeen years at CNN International brought exposure to major national and international stories…
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As members of the Portland Maine Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered for a stake Christmas fireside Sunday evening, Dec. 14, they received an unexpected and joyful announcement from the First Presidency.
A house of the Lord will be constructed in Portland, Maine — the state’s first temple.
“We’re pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Portland, Maine. The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later,” said the First Presidency statement read by Elder Allen D. Haynie, General Authority Seventy and president of the United States Northeast Area.
“This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and thank God for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord,” the statement concluded.
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Speaking to attendees in the Portland stake center in North Yarmouth, Elder Haynie said: “In a recent meeting of the First Presidency of the Church, a decision was made that, when directed by the First Presidency, the announcement of the construction of a new temple should be made on location by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, or a member of an area presidency.
“Such an announcement by a member of the area presidency has never occurred before,” Elder Haynie said. “Tonight will be the first time.”
On behalf of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Allen D. Haynie, General Authority Seventy and president of the United States Northeast Area, announces a new temple will be built in Portland, Maine, during a stake Christmas fireside in the Portland stake center in North Yarmouth, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. | Screenshot
The Portland Maine Temple is the first house of the Lord announced by the First Presidency since President Dallin H. Oaks was set apart as the 18th President of the Church on Oct. 14, following the death of President Russell M. Nelson. No temples were announced during October 2025 general conference.
Maine is home to more than 11,000 Latter-day Saints who comprise 27 congregations. The Portland Maine Stake was created earlier this year and is one of three stakes in the state, along with the Augusta and Bangor stakes. Church members in these stakes are currently part of the Boston Massachusetts Temple district.
The stake fireside, titled “Come Let Us Adore Him,” featured a variety of musical selections and messages about the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. Individuals and families of all ages attended the event. Elder Haynie was accompanied by his wife, Sister Deborah Haynie.
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A choir performs during the Portland Maine Stake Christmas fireside on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in North Yarmouth, Maine. | Screenshot
Temple announcement
A new temple in Maine brings the total number of the Church’s temples — operating, under construction, or announced worldwide — to 383.
This temple announcement is a deviation from a pattern established in recent years in which leaders announce temples mostly during the Church’s semiannual general conferences.
Of the 200 temples President Nelson announced during his seven years as President of the Church, only one was announced outside of a general conference session — the Ephraim Utah Temple. President Nelson announced the Ephraim temple on May 1, 2021, in a prerecorded video shown at a press conference inside the Manti Tabernacle. In this message, President Nelson also explained modified plans for the Manti Utah Temple’s renovation.
President Thomas S. Monson, who served as the 16th President of the Church from February 2008 to January 2018, announced 45 temples during his administration — 40 of which were done in a general conference session. Prior to President Monson’s tenure, however, a majority of temples were announced outside of general conference.
More about the Church in Maine
Latter-day Saint missionaries first arrived in Maine in 1832 by canoe, crossing the Piscataqua River which forms the boundary of Maine and New Hampshire. A branch was established in Saco later that year.
In August 1837, missionaries Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan Hale arrived in the Fox Islands, today known as Vinalhaven and North Haven. By that winter, the Church established branches on both islands, with about 100 members total. Church activity slowed in Maine after 1844, when most Church members moved west to escape persecution.
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Missionary efforts and Church activities resumed in 1904, and local members hosted worship services and activities in their homes. In 1957, meetinghouses were dedicated in Portland and Bangor. The state’s first stake, the Maine Stake, was organized on June 23, 1968.
The Portland Maine Stake center in North Yarmouth, Maine, is pictured on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The body of a missing Sedgwick woman was found a short distance from her residence Saturday morning, officials said.
Glenith Gray, 77, was reported missing from her home at 15 Parker Lane at about 3 a.m., according to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office.
The Maine Warden Service was called in at 6 a.m. to assist with the search, deploying five wardens and three K-9 units.
Cellphone tower data helped lead searchers to Gray’s body at about 9:45 a.m., a short distance from the residence, said Mark Latti, spokesperson for the Maine Warden Service.
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Her death was not considered suspicious and appeared to be weather-related, though the state medical examiner’s office was notified, which is standard in unattended deaths.
Gray had worked as a real estate agent and developer, as well as serving in the Maine State Legislature in the 1990s.
