The driver of a pontoon boat that capsized on Flagstaff Lake last month had recently sold the nearby Pines Market to a relative of the three women who died.
John Morris, of Eustis, sold the store in February to Wonderland Holdings LLC, according to the Franklin County Registry of Deeds.
Authorities say Morris was operating a 2024 Sea-Doo Switch pontoon boat on the lake Aug. 30 when it took on water and capsized suddenly.
Farhana Nasir, 53, of Selden, New York, and Kiran Akbar, 23, of Lake Grove, New York, both died at the scene. Noor Nasir, 22, also of Selden, was pulled from the water in critical condition and died Tuesday at a Bangor hospital.
Nasir Hameed of New York is listed as president of Wonderland Holdings LLC.
According to a report by Shahid Saqlain, a journalist who reports on news involving Pakistanis abroad, Hameed is the husband of Farhana Nasir and the father of Noor Nasir. The third woman who died, Kiran Akbar, was a family friend.
Efforts to reach the family were unsuccessful. Pines Market, at 975 The Arnold Trail in Eustis, remains open.
Saqlain said Hameed is a Pakistani-American who owns businesses in New York and other cities in the United States.
Hameed was part of a group from New York that bought the Athens Corner Store in Somerset County in 2019. He is reportedly the owner of a variety store in Belfast as well.
A growing number of immigrants are buying and operating village markets and variety stores throughout Maine, often in rural areas where they are preserving the only retail option available for miles.
When Hameed bought the Athens store, manager Alex Rehman, also from Pakistan, said the group was new to Maine but had been embraced by the community.
The group found Maine a favorable place to do business, he said, not only because of the chance of financial success but also because of the “comfort and peace” as compared to Long Island.
The boat crash remains under investigation.
According to Mark Latti, spokesman for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, witnesses on Aug. 30 saw the boat begin to go under near the beach area of the Cathedral Pines Campground. Seven people were onboard including Morris, the driver and owner of the boat.
Witnesses reported that Morris attempted to raise the bow of the boat as it appeared to pitch forward. However, the boat continued to sink and then flipped, throwing all seven into the water about 180 feet from shore, Latti said.
The 2024 Sea-Doo Switch was the subject of a safety recall issued in February related to its tendency to tip.
“Improper distribution of passengers and cargo weight could overload the front of the watercraft and cause instability, nosediving and possibly lead to capsizing. The condition worsens if water evacuation from the hull is not optimal. This could cause serious injuries or even death,” the recall notice said.
Morris’ boat was not being used in a commercial manner.
The investigation is ongoing and a report is not expected to be completed for several weeks, Latti said Monday.
