By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Friends remembered a Cape Elizabeth man who drowned in Sebago Lake while swimming as fun loving and full of life.

Jason Luce, an investigator with the Maine Warden Service, said 21-year-old Sean Casey was swimming from a stopped boat on Sebago Lake in Windham around 4 p.m. Monday with friends. 

Friends told investigators Casey went under the water and did not resurface. They thought at first he was fooling around, but realized “very shortly” something was wrong, Luce said.

The friends called 911 and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department, warden service and fire/rescue personnel responded to the Jordan Bay area on the east side of the lake, Luce said. Divers were mobilized to search for Casey, but the search was called off when it became too dark to continue, he said.

Divers resumed their search Tuesday morning and recovered Casey’s body around 12:30 p.m. The water is about 50 feet deep in that area, Luce said. Luce said the state Medical Examiner’s office is assisting in the investigation. He said it is too soon to speculate on what caused the accident.

Casey, a 2006 graduate of Portland High School, was a Cape Elizabeth native. He attended classes at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, according to school officials. Casey worked in the kitchen of area restaurants and coached seventh grade basketball, according to his Facebook page.

Casey’s father, John, is an assistant principal at Cape Elizabeth Middle School, where his mother, Deb, teaches seventh grade, according to school officials.

On his Facebook page, Casey listed his favorite activities as baseball, drawing, sketching, basketball and watching the Red Sox. He was a fan of the television shows “Sports Center” and “Family Guy,” and said his favorite music included A Tribe Called Quest, Bob Dylan and Nirvana. Casey also listed several favorite quotes, including one he attributed to his father: “Say what you mean – mean what you say.”

By Wednesday morning, nearly 30 friends had posted messages on Casey’s Facebook page. Many said they would never forget him and recalled memories of hanging out and laughing.

Anna Lombard grew up down the street from the Casey family in Shore Acres and went to school with Sean Casey’s older brother, Conor. She described Casey as the type of friend who could bring a smile to anyone’s face.

“Sean was a fun-loving, bright, charming kid with a passion for life and so, so much talent,” she said in an email. “There was always a twinkle in his eyes. Sean was a bright light in many people’s lives and he will be missed by all.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.