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 fiancΓ©e 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.