A family gathering in Jonesboro, Maine ended in heartbreak over the weekend. Sharon Bukulmez, 61, and her grandchildren Kinsley Grubb, 5, and Sawyer Grubb, 3, were found dead Sunday morning inside a submerged vehicle at Pond Cove, near a boat ramp on Schoppee Point Road in Roque Bluffs. The trio was last seen leaving the family gathering around 8:30 Saturday night, headed to Machias. When they didn’t arrive, they were reported missing, and that report is what launched the search.
Maine State Police traced Bukulmez’s cellphone, and the location data led investigators straight to the water near the ramp. Divers found the vehicle early Sunday. Autopsies are scheduled in Augusta to determine the cause and manner of death, and multiple agencies, including the State Police Dive Team and Marine Patrol, responded to the scene.
For those of us here on the Suncoast, the story lands close to home in a practical way. We live around water, from the Gulf beaches to the Myakka and the countless boat ramps in between. Cellphone location sharing and early missing persons reports are tools families can use right now, long before a search becomes urgent. Have you talked with your family about what to do if someone doesn’t arrive when expected?
