A Maine man was arrested after authorities say he tried to cross into Canada without legal authorization on an air mattress, according to multiple reports.
Border patrol officials detained 25-year-old John Michael Bennett after he took an inflatable mattress across the St. Croix River to New Brunswick Wednesday, the Portland Press Herald reports.
Bennett was reportedly found walking down a road, dripping wet.
The Calais resident plead guilty Thursday to crossing into Canada illegally. He says he was motivated by love and that he was trying to protect his pregnant fiancée from a violent ex-boyfriend.
Bennett attempted to travel across to St. Stephen, New Brunswick, from Maine legally Wednesday, but was turned away because of a pending criminal mischief charge in Calais, the Press Herald reports. He then returned to the U.S., bought a mattress and paddle at Wal-Mart and set sail across the river.
According to the Press Herald, Bennett was sentenced to two months in a Canadian jail and will be deported when he is freed.
