BELGRADE, Maine — A 66-year-old Oakland man apparently drowned Wednesday afternoon while trying to retrieve his drifting boat on Ellis Pond in Belgrade, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Officials said Robert Gary had launched his 12-foot aluminum motorboat at the Spaulding Point boat launch around 2:30 p.m. when it drifted away from shore. Gary swam after the boat but went under and did not resurface, a witness told investigators.

Belgrade Fire and Rescue recovered his body in about four feet of water roughly 30 to 40 yards from shore. Emergency crews attempted CPR, but Gary died at the scene, the department said.

His body was brought to Wheeler Funeral Home in Oakland. The state medical examiner will determine his cause of death.

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