Fisherman drowns as canoe capsizes

MORO PLANTATION – A fisherman who drowned after his canoe overturned on the cold waters on Rockabema Lake was not wearing a life jacket, the state warden service said.

Mark A. Perry, 48, of Brockport, N.Y., was found Tuesday in about 7 feet of water, 40 feet off the shore. The Maine Warden Service said Perry was an inexperienced swimmer.

“Water, particularly in northern Maine, is still in the 50s. If people fall in without a life jacket, they’re not going to last very long,” said Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

“The life jacket doesn’t do any good if it’s stowed under the seat,” he said.

Perry was fishing by himself in a small canoe. Other fishermen noticed the canoe overturned about 4 p.m. and notified state wardens.