Milton woman's heroic effort gave teen a chance at survival

Milton Police Chief Richard Krauss confers with another officer Saturday evening after a child was pulled from the waters of Milton Three Ponds. (Rochester Voice photo)

LEBANON, Maine - The fate of an unidentified youngster who was swimming in the Prospect Hill Road swimming hole before being pulled out of the water unconscious is still unclear today, but any chance of his survival was thanks to a quick-thinking Milton woman who pulled him from the water.

Amy Yelinko said she was cooling off with her children on the Maine side around 4 p.m. after they'd played in a couple of local youth soccer games when one of her kids yelled at her that a boy was drowning.

She said she immediately swam to where her children said the boy had gone under, but realized the water was too murky to see.

Yelinko's son then ran to get some goggles his sister had and threw them to his mom, who then went down over and over again looking for the boy.

After a number of tries she found the youngster and brought him to the rocks on the Milton side of the Garage Way bridge.

She said the boy had been swimming near them on the Maine side before telling friends he was going to swim to the bridge to jump off.

She said when she pulled the boy from the water he was unconscious.

The incident drew swift response from Milton Police, Milton Fire and Rescue and a Farmington ambulance, persons familiar with the incident said.

New Hampshire Marine Patrol was also called and is in charge of the case, said Milton Police Chief Richard Krauss.

Krauss and several others were still at the scene around 6:20 p.m. conducting an investigation.

The Garage Way bridge was shut down to all traffic for a period of time, but was reopened around 6:30 p.m.

A young man on a bicycle who stopped in front of Milton Garage to speak with two young women told The Rochester Voice he thought it was his friend who had been involved in the incident.

Social media posts kindled hope that the young man would survive.

Yelinko said this summer she's seen a lot of kids jumping from the Garage Way bridge with no adult supervision and hopes police crack down on the dangerous pastime.

The swimming hole and canoe and kayak launch at the bottom of Prospect Hill Road in Lebanon has been a favorite cooling off spot for years, while the Garage Way bridge that connects Lebanon and Milton has become increasingly congested with thrill seeking teens and even younger folk jumping off the span into Milton Three Ponds.