A man drowned this weekend while trying to rescue his daughters from a pond in Union, Maine, officials said.
Henry Brooks, 46, of Hope, was at Seven Tree Pond on Saturday afternoon with his son and two daughters when the tragedy occurred, the Maine Warden Service said, according to NBC affiliate News Center Maine.
Brooks was watching his 12- and 13-year-old daughters swim when one of them fell into deeper water where the pond meets a local river. The other girl tried to rescue her sister but also fell into the deeper water, and both were swept further out by a current, News Center Maine reports.
Realizing they were in trouble, Brooks jumped into the water to try and save them, followed by his 27-year-old son, who grabbed a life jacket, officials said.
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The son reached his sisters and was able to bring them both back to a nearby dock, but when he looked back, he couldn't see his dad.
Game wardens, Union first responders, and the Knox County Sheriff's Office searched for Brooks, but were unable to find him, so a dive team was later called in.
Around 7:30 p.m., according to News Center Maine, three Maine Warden Service divers recovered Brooks' body about 50 feet from shore, not far from the dock where his son had brought his daughters back to safety.
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The man's three children were taken to PenBay Medical Center in Rockport where they stayed for overnight observation.
No other information was immediately available.
