A Falmouth boy’s dream of becoming a superhero for a day came true Sunday when he rescued “hostages” in Portland and was able to free Slugger, the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team mascot, in time for the first pitch at Hadlock Field.

Sawyer Fish, 10, got to role-play Sonic Spider Boy as part of a make-believe day made possible by Make-A-Wish Maine. The fifth-grader at Falmouth Elementary School has been diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy.

Sawyer has been enamored with superheroes since he was 2 years old, said his mother, Christine Chasse.

“He did say that this was the best day of his life. It was very spontaneous,” Chasse said Sunday evening after she and her son had returned from their daylong adventure. “He has been through a lot in his life, so this was pretty amazing.”


Sawyer’s day started Sunday morning when a limousine and Falmouth’s chief of police, Edward Tolan, and Lt. John Kilbride showed up at his doorstep. He was taken to Falmouth Town Landing, where he was given a superhero’s send-off by 15 police officers from several departments. The town’s fireboat transported him to an empty warehouse on Portland’s waterfront. There, he and his superhero sidekick, Portland police Officer Robert Miller, had to complete an obstacle course before they could rescue five police officers who had been tied up by an evil mime.

Portland police then gave Sawyer a ride in their Special Reaction Team vehicle – the Bearcat – to the Portland Amtrak station, where he freed more hostages. Clues gathered at the train station led Fish to Hadlock Field, where Slugger was being held hostage by the evil mime.

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“It was an amazing experience. It turned out to be everything that we hoped it would be,” said Rebekah Roy, a spokeswoman for Make-A-Wish Maine.

Kate Vickery, Make-A-Wish’s program director, said it took several months to make arrangements for Sawyer to live out his wish. Make-A-Wish also provided his superhero costume.

The nonprofit organization, which is based in Portland, grants about 70 wishes a year to Maine residents.

Sawyer will be given the key to the city Monday by Police Chief Michael Sauschuck. Make-A-Wish said the adventure was made possible by members of the Portland Fire Department, the Portland Sea Dogs, and the Portland, Falmouth, Yarmouth, Cumberland, Scarborough and South Portland police departments.

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