A Mount Desert woman and her two young grandchildren who were on their way home from a weekend family wedding died when their vehicle became submerged near a Roque Bluffs boat ramp where two women drowned a little over a decade ago under similar circumstances.
Sharon Bukulmez, 61, and her two grandchildren, 5-year-old Kinsley and 3-year-old Sawyer Grubb, were found dead Sunday morning in Pond Cove near the boat ramp at the end of Schoppee Point Road, according to Shannon Moss, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety. The state police are investigating their deaths.
Saturday was not the first time someone had died near that boat ramp, which is near Roque Bluffs State Park. Two women, one of whom was 5 months pregnant, drowned in 2013 after their 2001 Dodge Caravan went off the same boat ramp on a foggy, rainy July evening.
Melissa Moyer of Pennsylvania and Amy Stiner of Machias called 911 after their van became fully submerged in Pond Cove, just hours after the duo and their dog had gotten lost hiking near the state park. A nearby resident found the women earlier that afternoon and led them back to their vehicle — which was last seen headed toward the boat ramp.
A former Washington County sheriff told the Bangor Daily News at the time of the women’s deaths that they were disoriented in the fog and rain and drove straight into the water.
“I’m sure they hit the water before they hit the brakes,” the sheriff said at the time.
In the days since Bukulmez and her grandchildren’s deaths, locals have expressed frustration over the dangers associated with the boat ramp, which leads directly into the water.
“I know this road and it goes right into the ocean,” one Facebook user wrote in a post about the tragedy. “No lights. If you don’t know, yes, you’re going to drive right into the water in pitch black. Horrible.”
Others argued the boat ramp should have a chain or movable barricades to warn unknowing drivers.
“We need a gate there on this ramp,” another user wrote. “This is the second tragic loss on the same ramp… praying for the family.”
Moss declined Monday to release additional information about the deaths, adding “the circumstances surrounding how the vehicle ended up in Pond Cove remain under investigation.”
A spokesperson for the state’s medical examiner’s office did not respond to inquiries Monday, but Moss previously said the family’s bodies were transported to Augusta for autopsies.
The three had left a family wedding in Jonesboro around 8:30 p.m. Saturday and didn’t arrive in Machias as expected, according to social media posts. Their bodies were recovered from the submerged vehicle early Sunday morning after the Bar Harbor Police Department pinged the grandmother’s last known cellphone location as near the boat ramp.
Mike Crabtree, the Washington County sheriff’s chief deputy, directed questions about the deaths to the state police, who are leading the investigation, but described the deaths as motor vehicle fatalities.
Bukelmez celebrated 15 years of service at MDI Health last year, according to a social media post.
A spokesperson for MDI Health did not respond to an inquiry Monday morning from the BDN.
Kinsley Grubb was a kindergarten student on Mount Desert Island, according to an employee at the school, who described her as a “sweet, curious, funny and [a] lovingly quirky, beautiful little girl.”
“She was dismissed early on Friday,” the employee wrote on Facebook. “I walked her up hand in hand after lunch to the office and out the door where she ran into her grandmother’s arms. I was the last one to see her at school. You’re not supposed to have favorites, but I’ve said numerous times the last few weeks she was absolutely one of mine — I’ll never, ever forget her.”
The children attended a Southwest Harbor childcare facility, according to the center’s owner.
“Sawyer was my buddy,” the owner wrote on Facebook. “We bonded over basketball and my challenging him to a shooting duel was a common occurrence. At the tender age of 3, he’d still smoke me. I referred to him as the next Jordan, and I’m heartbroken his dreams were cut short.”
Sawyer was a fan of macaroni and cheese and was the “kindest friend to his peers.” He always greeted his caretaker with a smile and an elongated “Miss Jennnnnn,” she added.
The children were described as best friends, always playing alongside each other at the care center.
“Kinsley was a special kind of intelligent,” the owner wrote. “The last time I saw her she gave me a lesson on photosynthesis and how the plant she planted with us was giving her oxygen. I loved listening to her. So wise.”
Staff at the childcare facility are also grieving and worrying about what they’ll say when other children ask where “their best friends are this week,” she added.
Since the tragedy, community members from Mount Desert Island to Machias have united to support the family.
The children’s former caretaker will start a basketball scholarship in Sawyer’s honor, which aims to help children from under-resourced families attend training clinics and summer camps at the Forge Training Center in Ellsworth.
A thrift shop in Bernard, a small village on the southwestern tip of MDI, announced Monday it would donate all proceeds to the Grubb family — the parents of the children — Wednesday.
“My heart has been so heavy thinking about the Grubb family and the unimaginable loss they are experiencing,” a Monday post by POP Thrift MDI stated. “We had the privilege of attending their wedding just days ago, which makes the news of this tragedy feel especially difficult to put into words. Showing up for people in our community when they are hurting is incredibly important to me. In a time like this, worrying about finances should be the very last thing a family has to carry.”