Body of York woman feared dead in canoe mishap found

DEAD RIVER TOWNSHIP, Maine - Divers from the Maine State Police/Maine Marine Patrol on Tuesday recovered the body of a 31-year-old York woman missing in a canoe mishap since Saturday afternoon.

Around 2:30 p.m. divers were focusing on an area that Maine Warden Service side scan sonar operators identified a likely target approximately 500' from shore. The body of Caitlin Giunta was found in about 22' of water. Game Wardens worked together with their counterparts in Maine State Police and Marine Patrol in a joint diving effort to search a relatively large area of Flagstaff Lake.

The Maine Warden Service and other emergency response agencies have been searching in the woods and waters in and around Flagstaff Lake since Giunta and two others capsized their canoe around 5:30 Saturday night. Giunta was canoeing Saturday evening with her boyfriend Ned Roche and her brother, Kyle Giunta. The three were motoring across Flagstaff Lake from an island back to the campsite they were staying at when their canoe capsized due to rough lake conditions and heavy wind. Overall, searchers canvassed more than four miles of shoreline and 350 acres of water.

In addition to dive operations, the Maine Warden Service was assisted by search teams from the Maine Association for Search and Rescue who continued to search the wooded inland areas, as well as Maine Forest Service, US Border Patrol, Maine Association for Search and Rescue Dogs, New Portland Fire Department and North Star Ambulance Service. Giunta was transported to Smart and Edwards Funeral Home in Skowhegan.