RANGELEY PLANTATION — A New York man drowned Saturday at Mooselookmeguntic Lake after he told his wife he was going for a swim, Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said Monday.

Deputy Alan Elmes responded to the incident at Bemis Road, which was reported at about 2:06 p.m. in Rangeley Plantation.

When the wife of Eric Werthman, 81, of Glenford, New York, went down to the lake she found him face down in the water, Nichols said.

His wife pulled him to shore and performed CPR. When emergency crews arrived they tried to revive him but were not successful, he said.

“It was an accidental drowning,” Nichols said.

The couple was in Maine for vacation.

Departments assisting Elmes include Rangeley police, Rangeley Fire and Rescue, and Maine Warden Service.