The Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Campobello are investigating the sudden death of a 62-year-old man from Cape Cod who was swept into the water near Head Harbour Lighthouse, also known as East Quoddy Head Light, on Tuesday, September 8.

The RCMP reports that at approximately 12:30 p.m. they responded to an emergency call regarding a man and woman who were recovered from the water in the vicinity of the lighthouse, which sits on a small island at the tip of Campobello. The man, identified as John Aboltin of Massachusetts, was in serious condition and was taken to Down East Community Hospital in Machias where he was pronounced dead.

The preliminary investigation determined that, when the tide was down, the couple had crossed by foot from the mainland to Head Harbour Lighthouse. They reportedly were unaware that the tide was coming in. When they left, the bar of land connecting the small island to Campobello was submerged, and, while attempting to make the return crossing, the man lost his footing and was swept away by the tide.

Mackie Greene of Campobello says the couple was picked up "within five minutes" by Steven Anthony and his son David in their boat. "They plucked both of them out of the water. The man was unresponsive, so David and the guy's wife were doing CPR on him."

Greene, who runs the whale-watching business Island Cruises, had a 1 p.m. whale-watching trip scheduled that day and says he drove to Head Harbour to see if he could see whales in the vicinity. When he arrived, he encountered a panicked female tourist who was unable to reach 911 on her U.S. cell phone.

"When I heard what happened, I took off wide open up the road to get the whale rescue boat in Head Harbour. It's a Zodiac and the fastest thing around," says Greene. "I told the girl in the ticket office to call 911, and I made a mayday call."

Greene reports that Steven and David Anthony heard screaming and saw Greene's truck going up the road, "so they were just ahead of me [in the water]. It was a real quick response." The Anthonys brought the couple to the Head Harbour wharf, where members of the Campobello ambulance and fire department and the RCMP met them and continued with CPR. The Downeast EMS ambulance from Lubec responded as well.

Greene, who teaches marine safety, believes the man drowned immediately in the cold water. "His wife was holding on to him, treading water." According to the RCMP, the cause of death has not been determined but may have been a heart attack or drowning.

Aboltin, a nuclear engineer at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Mass., is survived by his wife, four children and a granddaughter.

Greene points out that Head Harbour Lighthouse is a beautiful spot, "but it's time the government realizes that it has to be safe and reinforce how dangerous it is. In the past 15 summers, I've picked up 50 people off Head Harbour Light that have been stuck there, even though there are plenty of warning signs and the tourist information centre gives them information about it."

"That bar is so narrow and if you take one step sideways, you're gone," says Greene of the walkway from the lighthouse to the mainland. "There's no telephone there. No life rings. There should be some kind of warning, like a siren. Or build a bridge."

The East Quoddy Light tower and adjoining buildings have been owned by the Friends of Head Harbour Lightstation since August 2005. At that time Terry Greene was serving as the group's president, and she said that the Friends' 10-year plan for the landmark site includes access construction and other safety and design features as well as landscaping, insurance and managerial supervision. The group has spent thousands of dollars painting the interior and exterior of the buildings and charges a $5 fee for visits to the island upon which the 51-foot tower sits.