Kayaker dies in Maine as rain-swollen rivers roil

GARDINER, Maine -- A kayaker who attempted to maneuver his way down a roiling stream leading to the flooded Kennebec River died Monday after he became snagged in trees and efforts to rescue him failed.

James McCann, 48, of Gardiner, became the first victim of this spring's floods while he was kayaking down the Cobbosseecontee Stream. Officer Julian Harwood said McCann was seen clinging to trees along the fast-moving stream near the confluence with the Kennebec in downtown Gardiner.

A kayaker tried to rescue McCann, and city rescue teams could not get a line to him, Harwood said. McCann went into the water, and after he resurfaced, rescue personnel tried to revive him, Harwood said.

Maine's major rivers have crested above flood stage, sending water into basements and forcing road closures.

Many of the roadways near flooded streams and small rivers were still covered with water Monday. The road damage will probably be far greater than the damage to buildings along Maine's large rivers, said Lynette Miller of the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

Some stores in Gardiner were flooded Monday. Upstream in Augusta, water cresting above flood level at about 2 p.m. flowed into the basements of downtown stores. An ice floe that drifted out of the Kennebec's swift current bashed open a set of doors to one store.