LINCOLNVILLE, Maine (12 Apr 2008) — Family members, co-workers and friends gathered Friday at the home of a Waldo County Sheriff's Department sergeant who apparently drowned Thursday night. Mark A. Schade, 42, had been scuba diving in a private pond behind Sheriff Scott Story's home in Monroe. Owen Smith, director of Waldo County Communications, said Schade was cleaning a device that adds oxygen to the pond and was diving alone. Brandy Pyska, a spokeswoman for the state Chief Medical Examiner's Office, said an autopsy would not be complete Friday and probably would proceed through the weekend. Schade, a 1990 graduate of Unity College, leaves behind his wife, Tish, and six children. His mother-in-law, Jackie Marriner, said late Friday morning that the family chose not to discuss Schade's death at the time. Marriner spoke as the family gathered in their Lincolnville home. "There's so many nice things to say," Marriner said, crying. Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said state police are investigating the accident. Shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday, Story and another deputy reported the emergency, after they saw Schade dive under the ice but not emerge, McCausland said. Schade had brought the pond's aerator to the surface to be cleaned and then dove back in to return it to the water. He did not resurface. Police and game wardens joined rescue workers at the scene on Back Brooks Road in Monroe. A helicopter flew Schade to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where a supervising nurse confirmed his death shortly after 9 p.m. Deputy Chief Bob Keating also had difficulty speaking of the tragedy. Schade had been with the department for more than 17 years, he said. Sheriff Scott Story's pond where Mark Schade died while scuba diving. | | Members of the Maine State Police dive team prepare to enter the pond to recover the body of Mark A. Schade, 42, who leaves behind a wife and six children. "Obviously, we're all devastated by the accident," Keating said. "He was a brother officer and we all thought the world of him." Contacted at Schade's home, Deputy Dale Brown said Story had been there but just left. Story would not be available Friday for comment, a Waldo County dispatcher said. "He was a great guy that everybody loved," Brown said. Brown said Schade came from Pennsylvania and enrolled at Unity College. Family members worked Friday on funeral arrangements, Brown said. Schade's funeral probably will be held early next week, he said. "You're going to need a place of pretty decent size," he said. CDNN RELATED NEWSMAINE - Scuba diving accident kills off-duty sheriffSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
