Body of Eddington man recovered from Davis Pond

EDDINGTON — The body of an Eddington man who drowned Wednesday night was recovered from Davis Pond Thursday morning.

Mark Brown, 35, of Fire Road 13, was reported missing at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday after two young men found his empty boat floating about 400 yards from shore.

Wardens from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife organized a search but the effort was postponed because of darkness until Thursday morning.

Wardens were on the scene at 6 a.m. Thursday and divers from across the state were called to help search the pond, according to Sgt. Michael Ayer.

Ayer said a neighbor who was familiar with the pond had a boat equipped with a depth finder and offered to help.

The man took wardens to the approximate location of where Brown’s boat was found and the depth finder pinpointed an odd shape on the bottom of the pond. Divers went down and recovered Brown’s body. Ayer said the entire process took about 16 minutes.

Ayer said Brown had gone outside to work on his motor Wednesday evening and apparently decided to take his boat out for a test run.

Ayer said Brown was riding in a 10-foot johnboat, which he characterized as a “treacherous and unstable” watercraft.

He said witnesses stated they saw the boat zipping across the pond with the bow “high in the air.” A short time later the two men saw the empty boat going in circles.

Ayer speculated that the boat began to swamp and Brown fell or was thrown from the stern.

Brown was not wearing a life jacket and there were no life jackets in the boat, said Ayer.