Tavayne Weir and D’andre Graham drown jumping off 30ft cliff overlooking popular swimming spot in Springvale, Maine. Boys found both clutching each other at the bottom of the river.
The bodies of two teenage stepbrothers who drowned after jumping off a 30ft cliff overlooking a popular swimming spot in Maine were found both clutching one another.
Tavayne Weir, 17, and his stepbrother, D’andre Graham, 16, had told their parents they were going to the Springvale Recreation Area on Sunday night.
When the siblings missed their 10pm curfew, their concerned parents called 911.
Law enforcement found the brother’s car in the parking lot, with no signs of the teens in the darkness.
The fire department were called to assist with search and managed to floodlight the scene, which includes designated swimming areas and trails on both sides of the Mousam River.
Sadly both boys were found underwater after an hour-and-a-half of searching the river.
‘Using flashlights and high intensity lights, they were able locate them below the water,’ Major Matthew Gagne with the Sanford Police Department told WMTW.
The brother’s bodies were found just a quarter-mile from 30 foot high cliff that they had jumped off from earlier that day.
‘We don’t know if they were jumping or just swimming because we don’t know exactly what time they went in. We assume they were probably by themselves as well because we had no calls from that area that anybody was in distress or actively drowning,’ Gagne added.
Thrill-seekers
During the day, the roped-off swimming area has lifeguards but directly across from the supervised area are the rocks where people are often seen climbing up, before splashing down into the water below.
It’s not known exactly what the boys were doing which led them to get into difficulties.
The boys’ bodies were taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta, Maine, where autopsies will be performed to determine exactly how they died.
Stated a GoFundMe page: ‘They showed incredible courage and loyalty, holding on to each other until the very end, demonstrating the deep bond they shared.’
In a letter home to parents at the school the pair attended, Matt Nelson, Sanford Superintendent of Schools expressed ‘profound sadness’ the drownings.
‘Our sincere condolences and thoughts go out to the student’s family and friends,’ Nelson wrote.
‘We are saddened by the loss to our school community and will make every effort to help you and your child as you need.’
‘Tavayne and D’andre always considered each other brothers, and when their parents Kerryan and Morris got married last year, it made their brother bond official,’ a tribute to the brothers read.
‘They were more than stepbrothers; they were true brothers to each other. Growing up in Jamaica, they did everything together, from playing basketball and riding bikes to gaming.’
Tavayne and his mother, Kerryann, had only recently moved to Maine ‘in search of a better future’, while D’andre had been visiting the area with his dad, Morris, for the summer, with an eye to making a permanent move to Maine later this year.
Come Monday, just hours after the boys’ death, thrill-seekers were once again seen jumping into the river.
