Loved ones remember Caledonia man who drowned while in Maine for work
BATH, Maine. (CBS 58) -- Three Wisconsin sisters will be heading to Maine next week to bring their brother home.
David Dieterich, from Caledonia, drowned after falling off a dock while in Bath, Maine for work.
Dieterich worked for Marshall Erecting in Milwaukee and was sent to Maine on assignment.
On April 18 he fell off a floating dock and into the Kennebec River.
“My brother went in the water and never came back up,” Kimberly Krotts, Dieterich's sister, said.
She said Dieterich and two coworkers were on their back to their hotel that night when they decided to walk by the river, but the water’s conditions were rough.
“The water was 40 degrees,” Krotts said. “It didn’t appear to be churning, but there were currents running different ways, the tide was really high.”
Rescue crews searched the waters, but could not find him. Dieterich's body was found nearly a month later on May 17, what would have been his 36th birthday.
The couple who found Dieterich left him with flowers.
“That was loveliest, most humane, dignified thing they could have done for him,” Kross said.
Dieterich was the youngest and had three sisters.
“He was a millwright journeyman and dealt with large machines and putting things together and putting them together,” Krotts said. “He had a huge circle of friends he had for a really long time and he was kind of quirky and had a fun sense of humor.”
Dieterich’s family hopes his story reminds others to love their family unconditionally and to be mindful of mother nature.
“Nature is nature and it will always do what it wants and we need to be aware of our surroundings, and take care of ourselves and watch out for each other,” Krotts said.
Marshall Erecting released a statement back in April saying:
“This is a great loss for Marshall Erecting. David was a very hardworking individual and will be missed.”
Dieterich’s family will be picking up his ashes next week and bringing him home. They also plan on meeting the couple who found him.