DA: Person ‘apparently drowned’ in Mashpee pond after boating accident

MASHPEE, Mass. — The Cape Cod DA’s office on Tuesday night confirmed someone “apparently drowned” at Wakeby Pond in Mashpee earlier in the day.

Rescue crews and dive teams spent hours combing the waters of Mashpee and Wakeby Ponds Tuesday for a missing boater.

“We were here maybe 10 minutes and we saw the harbormaster put his lights on and the sirens, which we’ve never seen before, fly out there,” said Wendi Roberts, who was on the beach at Attaquin Park.

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A woman who was on that boat says her father was the one who went missing in the water. She tells Boston 25 News her uncle also tried to help, but he was injured by the boat’s propeller when he went into the water. He was rescued and flown to the hospital with injuries, while the search continued for her father.

“We saw dive teams being changed and more boats going in the water and the coast guard came over with the sonar to look for heat signature but this is deep, it gets cold real quick,” said Don Douglas who visits this beach all the time.

After a few hours of searching, the harbormaster towed a small boat back to the ramp off Fisherman’s Landing.

Then dive teams came back in, holding up a red tarp as they unloaded their boat.

Soon after, the search stopped.

“We saw the harbormaster bust out of here, the police boat, the fire station boat and then we saw the harbormaster bringing out boats like their own personal boats, just to try to find whoever’s missing,” said Kelley Santos, who witnessed the commotion from the beach.

Witnesses now waiting to learn details as to what happened to that missing boater.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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