A Dresden man pulled a 2-year-old boy from the Kennebec River in Augusta Friday night and further aided him until emergency workers arrived, Augusta police said. The child’s condition was not available Saturday afternoon.

In an email response to the Wiscasset Newspaper, Major Jared Mills confirmed the man who came to the boy’s aid was Sean Scanlon of Dresden.

“He was a person in the right place at the right time and committed a heroic act,” Mills wrote.

Following is a press release earlier Saturday from the police department:

On Sept. 16 at about 6 p.m., witnesses on the west side of the Kennebec River on Front Street noticed a small child they thought to be playing in the water along the east bank in the area of the boat landing. The witnesses assumed the child was swimming in the river; however what they thought to be swimming was a child in distress and drowning. The witnesses began yelling attempting to get anyone’s attention at the East Side Boat Landing Playground.

One individual who was with his children at the playground quickly determined what the witnesses were screaming about and ran toward the river bank. He quickly took action by jumping into the water, retrieving the child and swimming back to shore. Once they reached the safety of the shoreline, the child was observed to be unresponsive, so this man immediately began chest compressions until the child began to expel water from his lungs. Augusta Fire and Rescue personnel arrived on scene shortly after and took over lifesaving care for the child who remained responsive and was transported to the hospital.

Augusta police officers and detectives have been investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident. At this time we have identified the male child, who is 2 years old, and who his family is.