ROQUE BLUFFS, Maine — A grandmother and two grandchildren were discovered dead in a car submerged in Pond Cove in Roque Bluffs Sunday morning.
The Mount Desert woman, 61-year-old Sharon Bukulmez, and her two young grandchildren, 5-year-old Kinsley Grubb and 3-year-old Sawyer Grubb, of Bar Harbor, were found after leaving a family event in Jonesboro but failing to arrive in Machias as expected.
The three were last seen around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
When they did not arrive, police were called and tried to locate them. The Bar Harbor Police Department collected information from Bukulmez’ mobile phone, which put her at a location in the water near the boat ramp at the end of Schoppee Point Road in Roque Bluffs. The Maine State Police were called and troopers responded to the scene.
The Maine State Police Dive Team and Maine Marine Patrol also responded. At approximately seven in the morning, they located the vehicle submerged in the cove, and the bodies of Bukulmez and the children, along with the vehicle, were found in the water. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Coast Guard also assisted at the scene.
The bodies were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta. Autopsies will be performed to determine the cause and manner of death.
The circumstances remain under investigation, and no additional information is being released at this time.