A Wiscasset man who was the subject of a water rescue Sunday in Westport Island was arrested on warrants that authorities said were out on him.

Daniel Colby Jr., 32, allegedly refused help until authorities pepper-sprayed him as he swam in the Back River, according to a Dec. 15 Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office press release.

Officers from Lincoln and Kennebec counties, the Wiscasset Police Department and the Westport Island Fire Department aided in rescuing and apprehending Colby, according to the release.

“Several attempts were made by all the law enforcement officers at the scene to coach this male to swim to shore before the temperature of both the air and water turned this search to a recovery mission. When it became clear that this male would not cooperate, a boat from the Westport Island Fire Department was requested to assist. After placing a deputy in the Westport Island Fire Department boat, several attempts were made to assist this male into the boat. The male refused a life preserver provided to him and would swim away from the boat each time an attempt was made to assist him. The lack of cooperation by this male and tidal current in the area made these attempts difficult at best,” the release states.

“After several attempts to gain the cooperation of this male and fear that he would eventually die by exposure or drowning, the Lincoln County deputy made the decision to pepper spray this male several times in hopes that his active resistance to detention would stop,” the release continues. “This method proved effective. The male’s attempt to swim away did stop, but he never assisted with his (own) rescue. Once the Lincoln County deputy gained control of this male he was dragged to the shoreline while still in the water where the Wiscasset police officer, the Kennebec deputy and the Westport fire officer placed him first in handcuffs and eventually back in the Westport Island Fire Department boat for transport to the awaiting Wiscasset Ambulance.”

Lincoln County officers placed Colby under arrest on the active warrants.

Colby was taken to Midcoast Hospital in Brunswick, then on to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset on Monday morning, according to the release. In addition to the warrants that allege unpaid fines, cultivating marijuana, and refusing to submit to arrest or detention, Colby was also charged with an additional charge of refusing to submit to arrest or detention.

Colby remained at the jail Tuesday following an initial court appearance Monday, when bail was set at $4,000 cash or $40,000 surety, jail staff said. He is due in court on Jan. 22, according to jail staff.

Sunday’s incident followed initial reports Lincoln County received at midday, one about a man in the area of Main Road in Westport Island acting strangely and possibly needing medical attention; another about a man jumping into traffic on Main Road and trying to enter passing vehicles, according to Monday’s release.

When Wiscasset and Lincoln County officers found the man in a wooded area off West Shore Road, near the Main Road intersection, the man fled, according to the release.

A four-hour search followed; at one point, Kennebec and Lincoln County deputies located the man on the shoreline off West Shore Road and ordered the man to stop, but he allegedly refused and entered Back River, the release states.