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A Maine game warden died Tuesday morning in a plane crash in Franklin County.
The plane crashed about 11 a.m. near Schoolhouse Pond in Avon, according to Mark Latti, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The game warden, whose identity hasn’t been made public, died in the crash. No one else was aboard the plane, Latti said. The investigation is ongoing.
Around 30 wardens are on site as well as sheriff’s deputies, state Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, who represents the area, said just after 1 p.m. He was traveling to the scene from Augusta after attending Tuesday’s annual observance at the Maine Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, honoring police who have died in the line of duty.
Tuesday’s death was the first in the line of duty for a game warden since March 2011, when pilot Daryl Ray Gordon’s plane crashed onto a frozen Clear Lake near Ashland in Aroostook County. At least 16 game wardens have died in the line of duty in the agency’s 146-year history.
“My heart is with the warden’s family and loved ones, their colleagues at the Maine Warden Service, and all affected by this tragedy,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement.
The pond is in a rural and heavily wooded area between Avon and Temple, northwest of Farmington. It’s less than eight miles from a small, grass airport on the town line with Phillips that is used often by small-plane pilots.
BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.
