A town manager drowned Friday — but not before rescuing his 4-year-old son after they both plunged through the ice of a Maine pond.
Kevin Howell, 51, and his son Sawyer were on an early morning walk across a portion of Etna Pond when the ice collapsed beneath their weight, according to the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.
Howell heaved Sawyer out of the frigid waters, instructing him to run the 0.3 miles back to their Carmel house and get his mother.
The youngster heroically made the journey to his mother, who called 911 and rushed to help her husband, grabbing an anchor and rope on the way, police said.
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After securing the rope to shore and racing across the ice to reach Howell, the wife then tragically broke through the ice herself and was unable to get out.
Kevin Howell was walking across the Etna Pond with his young son when the ice collapsed beneath their weight. Town of Carmel
Fortunately, the Penobscot sheriff arrived shortly after and successfully rescued Howell’s wife by crawling across the ice and using the same rope she had fastened moments earlier.
Howell, however, had vanished beneath the surface.
His body was recovered by divers shortly before 2 p.m., just 20 minutes after they entered the water and nearly 8 hours after Howell broke through the ice.
At the time of his death, Howell was serving as the town manager for Carmel, a town nearly 100 miles northeast of Lewiston.
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After securing the rope to shore and racing across the ice to reach Howell, the wife then tragically broke through the ice herself and was unable to get out. YouTube/ NEWS CENTER
He had held the position since 2015 and was awarded several accolades for his work in town government, including the town Leadership award in 2020, according to Carmel’s website.
Several town employees changed their Facebook profile pictures to an image of the town’s emblem, along with a black ribbon to represent mourning, in the hours following the tragedy.
Howell also served as a member of Maine’s second EMS Blue Ribbon Commission.
“Mr. Howell was a visionary for his community’s development of a regional EMS system. 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,” Maine EMS said in a statement.
Etna Pond Etna Pond covers about 361 acres and has a depth of 12 feet and is a popular spot for ice fishing and skating.
After Maine’s first Democratic gubernatorial debate, I commented that the candidates seemed to be vying with each other to be agreeable. Would it last? Back then, I thought I’d be happy with any of them as Maine’s next governor.
Not so now, as I observe the cronyism of Shenna Bellows, Troy Jackson and Hannah Pingree, whose plan to rank each other when they vote provides a blueprint for gaming the ranked-choice voting system in the primary. The political insiders are forming an alliance against the outsiders, Nirav Shah and Angus King III.
Shah’s campaign responded that it would stay focused on winning voters’ support, a more principled approach, in my estimation.
I prefer a governor who listens and learns from his constituents over one experienced at alliances and deal-making. I want integrity and leadership, not manipulation and exclusion.
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I no longer believe that Bellows, Jackson or Pingree would make a good governor.
BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – A Wall Street Journal article reports that Amy Gertner, the wife of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, told campaign aides she found sexually explicit text messages on Platner’s phone after he launched his bid for office last year.
According to the report, Gertner disclosed the messages while aides were conducting opposition research, and she asked a campaign aide to review what Platner had sent—reportedly to several women—to determine whether it could become a liability for his campaign.
The Wall Street Journal reports Gertner believed she was confiding in someone she considered a friend.
The article also states the couple discussed the messages in marriage counseling.
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In a statement from Gertner provided by the Platner campaign, she wrote that they have gone through counseling and that their marriage today “is stronger than ever before.”
Amy Gertner provided a statement through the Platner campaign.
“I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend. In the months since, I have had to watch as she spread malicious gossip to anyone who would take her call. I trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives – the early days of our marriage before any campaign was on our mind – and I am deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy.
“It is no secret that Graham and I have struggled on our fertility journey. We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counseling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren’t easy. And we came through it, not in spite of how much we’ve been through, but because of how much we love each other and the life we’ve built. Our marriage today is stronger than ever before.
“I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and the worst days of my life. That hasn’t changed, and it won’t.” – Amy Gertner
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Platner and Gertner married in 2024, according to the report.
