The deaths of Sharon Bukulmez and her two grandchildren have brought an outpouring of support for the family, along with renewed questions about safety at the Roque Bluffs boat ramp.
Sep 22, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Witham Family Hotels.
ROQUE BLUFFS—A Mount Desert Island community member and her two grandchildren died after their vehicle went into Pond Cove this weekend. The accident occurred by a boat ramp that’s been the site of another drowning that took multiple lives, as well as other accidents.
This weekend state law enforcement officers and dive team members found Sharon Bukulmez, 61, and her two grandchildren, 5-year-old Kinsley and 3-year-old Sawyer Grubb and Bukulmez’ vehicle at approximately 7 a.m. Sunday morning.
Investigators have not currently identified anything that would indicate the deaths are suspicious, according to Maine Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Shannon Moss.
Moss said that the state police are continuing to investigate the incident.
On social media, multiple users advocated on various posts for changes to the road as well as empathy and privacy for the family who suffered tremendous loss of their loved ones.
As of Monday, the Maine Medical Examiner’s Officer has not released a statement. On Tuesday morning, the office said any information won’t be released for a few weeks.
Bukulmez and her grandchildren had left a wedding in Jonesboro, late Saturday evening. When they didn’t arrive in Machias, worried family members alerted the police. The Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Police Department were able to get a ping off her cellphone to locate the vehicle.
Sunset has been occurring at approximately 6:30 with twilight lasting in the area for another half hour.
The three were much loved on Mount Desert Island and beyond. Last year, MDI Health commended Bukulmez for her 15 years of service. On social media, several others who worked at the lab for MDI Health mourned her loss, and the loss of her grandchildren and worried for the family members and friends.
“Sharon was the kindest person I’ve ever known. She would quite literally give you the shirt off her back. She used her smile to lift others. Her selflessness shined in so many ways, through her work at MDI Hospital, her friendships, her volunteerism, and her family. She listened, she cared, she gave—all the time. Where she beamed brightest, however, was in the love of and care for her two grandchildren. There was absolutely nothing she wouldn’t do for them. Her absence will leave a palpable hole in this community forever,” Bo Greene wrote in a GoFundMe.
Greene described Sawyer and Kinsley as lighting up the lives of their parents and the rest of their family, friends, and teachers.
Sawyer was remembered as being smart, precocious, a boy who loved basketball. Kinsley’s sweetness and intelligence and loyalty to her brother was noted by Jennifer Sargent, who is organizing a scholarship in Sawyer’s name. Sargent is the owner and president at Love Of A Mother Child Care Center. The children attended her childcare.
“Sawyer was my buddy,” she wrote on a public Facebook post and that she said we could use within this story.
“We bonded over basketball and my challenging him to a shooting duel was a common occurrence. At the tender age of three, he’d still smoke me. I referred to him as the next Jordan, and I’m heartbroken his dreams were cut short. He loved mac ‘n cheese and was the kindest friend to his peers. Sawyer was always, and I mean always, the first one to meet me at the front door with a smile and a ‘Miss Jennnnnn,’” she recalled.
Kinsley, also known affectionately as Kinney, was an equally bright light.
“Kinsley. Sweet, sweet girl. Her little brother Sawyer was her absolute best friend. Every activity, every play session, every move she made she took Sawyer along with her, and if he wasn’t close, she’d seek him out,” Sargent wrote. “Kinsley was a special kind of intelligent. The last time I saw her she gave me a lesson on photosynthesis and how the plant she planted with us was giving her oxygen. I loved listening to her. So wise.”
The site of the deaths is at the same location where two women died in July 2013 after driving their Dodge Caravan off Schoppee Point Road and into the water during a foggy night. Amy Stiner, 37, of Machias, and Melissa Moyer, 38, of Sunbury, Pa. Stiner was pregnant at the time.
The women had called 911 after their van went into the water. Dispatchers lost the call as water filled the vehicle. The women had previously been lost hiking in the Roque Bluffs State Park and had been helped back to their Caravan by a local resident. Bangor Daily News reports from Washington County Sheriff Deputy Donnie Smith from the time indicate that Stiner and Moyer had been disoriented in the fog and drove into the water.
A sign was called for as were permanent fixes to the abrupt decline from the Schoppee Point Road into the water. Later in 2013, six signs were posted at the site to warn motorists.
At the time, Jeff Conley, a lobsterman in the area told the BDN, “Hopefully, it won’t happen again.” He noted that the road is hard to navigate.
In 2005, another man, Ricky Alexander of Rhode Island, had driven his car off the road at the same location. He and his friends survived.
Concerns over the ramp were expressed back in 2013 and have come up again after Saturday’s tragedy. The ramp extends directly and abruptly into Pond Cove.
Currently, some are calling for lights in the area or potential reconfiguration of the road or other safety measures, such as gates. The road is owned by the state and part of the state park.
News Center Maine is reporting that Roque Bluff Select Board Chair Owen Moody said, “The biggest problem is at night you can’t see the water. When she went down there, it was dark. There was no way of seeing anything.”
Moody told the station that the town intends to install a gate this week and potentially other signs and a flashing light.
Roque Bluffs Harbor Master Prentiss Harmon told News Center Maine that changes would be made.
“Just something to make people aware the road comes to an abrupt end in the water,” Harmon said.
Rep. Tiffany Strout (R-Harrington) also plans to work with the state and town to make the site safer, the television station reported.
WAYS TO HELP RIGHT NOW
A GOFUND ME SET UP BY BO GREENE
“This past weekend the most catastrophic tragedy imaginable befell our community and we lost three cherished Islanders. Five year old Kinsley Grubb, three year old Sawyer Grubb, and their grandmother, Sharon Bukulmez, were taken from us and there are no words to accurately describe the sense of loss and sadness that is blanketing our community.
“Kinsley and Sawyer Grubb lit up the lives of their parents, Peter and Becca, their grandparents, their aunts and uncles and cousins, their teachers, and their friends. Pete and Becca are incredibly hard working parents, trying to create the best life for their young family. The profound devastation they must be feeling is nothing that we can understand or make sense of and the collective hearts of all of us are breaking for them.
“Sharon was the kindest person I’ve ever known. She would quite literally give you the shirt off her back. She used her smile to lift others. Her selflessness shined in so many ways, through her work at MDI Hospital, her friendships, her volunteerism, and her family. She listened, she cared, she gave – all the time. Where she beamed brightest, however, was in the love of and care for her two grandchildren. There was absolutely nothing she wouldn’t do for them. Her absence will leave a palpable hole in this community forever.
“Our goal in this campaign is to assist the family financially so they focus their energy where it belongs, on grieving and remembering and finding a way forward. So many of us want to help the Grubb family and though we all want to wrap them in a big community hug, the time for that is not right now. For the moment, we need to express our love and sorrow by supporting them with generosity and space. We cannot take the pain away from this beautiful family, but we can help in other ways, including financially, to ease the immense burden that lies ahead.
“Thank you for everything. For caring about this beautiful family, for giving if you can, for praying if you do, for being part of this community we love so much. And please tell your people how much you love them. Peace.”
The link to the GoFundMe is here.
SAWYER GRUBB FUND
“I will be starting a basketball scholarship in honor of Sawyer. The funds will go toward basketball training clinics and basketball summer camps at The Forge Training Center in Ellsworth for children whose families cannot afford to send them. If you feel inclined to help send children to basketball clinics and camps in little Sawyers memory, please let me know,” Sargent wrote.
You can donate straight to the “Sawyer Grubb Fund” under Jennifer Sargent at The First National Bank. Last 4 digits of the fund account are 5930.
POP THRIFT’s WEDNESDAY FUNDRAISER
Erin Helget, founder of Pop Thrift wrote, “My heart has been so heavy thinking about the Grubb family and the unimaginable loss they are experiencing. We had the privilege of attending their wedding just days ago, which makes the news of this tragedy feel especially difficult to put into words.
“Showing up for people in our community when they are hurting is incredibly important to me. In a time like this, worrying about finances should be the very last thing a family has to carry.
“So this Wednesday, September 23, every single dollar made at POP Thrift will be given directly to the Grubb family.
“If you aren’t able to make it in but would still like to contribute, you can send a donation to the Pop Thrift Venmo and I will make sure it goes directly to the family.
“I know so many hearts in our community are hurting for them right now. I hope together we can take even one small worry off their shoulders while they navigate something no parent should ever have to endure.
“Thank you all so much for your continued support of POP Thrift and, more importantly, for the way you continue to show up for the people around you. I hope to see lots of you at the barn on Wednesday. Let’s fill the place with love and do what we can for this family.”
https://venmo.com/u/popthriftmdi
QUICK NOTE: We’ve reached out to the MDI Hospital and MDI RSS system to see if they had statements or plans to help the Grubb family. As of press time, we haven’t heard anything, and we ask for your patience as we try to find all the ways to help but also allow everyone who is hurting to mourn.
The photo within this story appears through a media partnership with the Bangor Daily News.
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