BATH — The strong flow of water down the Kennebec River is making the search for a Wisconsin man more than a week ago more difficult, according to officials leading the search.
Maine Marine Patrol has been searching for the body of 35-year-old David Dieterich, who slipped off a dock in Bath, since the night of April 18.
The natural rate of flow during tide cycles is increased exponentially right now with the amount of spring runoff, “and so sometimes the surface water and the water underneath are going in different directions,” said Sgt. Robert Beal of the Marine Patrol. “It’s an incredibly dynamic environment and it will be an incredible challenge moving forward if he’s not right where he went into the river.”
Dieterich fell in around 10 p.m., and the river was in a flood high tide shortly after midnight. It was 2 and a half hours of incoming tide and nearly a full tide cycle before the search team could get divers into the water the next morning at slack low tide.
Along the river bed in that area are dock and pier systems, chains securing the docks, boulders, rip rap, construction debris and other obstructions. The current runs hard and there are natural eddies to contend with. The high flood waters are also carrying trees, stumps and other hazards. Diver safety is the priority, Beal said, adding that the diver he spoke to with the Maine State Police underwater recovery team told him there was 4-8 inches of visibility in the river.
“You’re literally feeling around the bottom,” he said.
Search equipment includes a submersible remote operated vehicle that captures images under water; as well as side-scan sonar that is dragged across the surface of the water as it sends sound waves into the depths below. They’ve also searched from the sky using a Marine Patrol search plane and a drone. Beal expected to search again by plane Friday and by boat over the weekend, weather permitting.
“The Kennebec River is probably as challenging an environment to search on or in, as anywhere in the state, I would have to guess,” he said.
In October 2018, a 64-year-old Richmond man went missing after slipping from his boat or the town dock. He was found the next day.
In May 2017, 27-year-old Stephen Wines of Bath reportedly fell from a boat while fishing with his brother in the Androscoggin River near Bay Bridge Landing in Brunswick. Marine Patrol, local law enforcement, family and friends searched for days, but his body was never found.
“I can’t imagine the family member of mine. … It’s almost as if they’ve disappeared,” Beal said. “They were here and then they’re gone and then I can’t find them. There’ s something so unsettling about considering that and that’s what family members are living right now. And so that’s motivation in and of itself.”
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