Man dies of natural causes on Crystal Lake

By David Carkhuff

Charles MacKenzie, 62, a resident of Duxbury, Mass., Eaton and Conway, died of natural causes Sunday while spending an afternoon rafting on Crystal Lake."He was enjoying the beautiful day with his family in the water, and his wife was with him," said Assistant Deputy Medical Examiner Carol Tubman.MacKenzie was out on the lake on an inflatable raft while recreating from the Eaton Public Beach."It just became obvious that he was not feeling well and needed to get to shore," Tubman said.A 911 call to the Carroll County Sheriff's Office at 7:11 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7, advised that someone was on the lake yelling for help. At first, emergency responders treated the call as a possible drowning. But at 7:19 p.m. dispatchers gave an update, stating that the patient, a 62-year-old male, was unconscious and not breathing, out of the water, and that responders continued attempting cardiopulmonary resuscitation.The patient was transported to The Memorial Hospital in North Conway, where he was pronounced dead. Tubman said MacKenzie died of natural causes. Technically the cause of death was cardiovascular disease.Freedom Rescue, Conway Rescue and Medstar Ambulance Service responded. A request for an air boat later was cancelled, Tubman said.