In the early morning of July 3, the US Coast Guard and the Maryland Natural Resources Police received information about a disabled boat in need of assistance in the Chesapeake Bay off the Betterton shore. There were two men in the boat, and one of the men needed medical attention. The US Coast Guard located the boat about one mile from shore and discovered that the man in need of medical assistance was deceased.

The boat was towed to the docks where investigators from the Maryland Natural Resources Police, Maryland State Police Centreville Barrack and the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit responded to the scene for a joint investigation. The investigation revealed that on July 2, the two men left for Kent Island from the Otter Creek Marina in Harford County in a small craft Bayliner. The men had been at the Red Eye Dock Bar, consuming alcoholic beverages and left the bar in their boat to travel back to Harford County. Within a short period of time, it is believed that one of the men lost consciousness, leaving the second man to operate the boat, who was unfamiliar with its operation or navigating the waters. He became lost, and at one point the boat became disabled in the waters. The second man called for 911 for assistance, and the US Coast Guard was able to locate the boat shortly after the call.

The investigation is being handled by the Maryland State Police Centreville Barrack and assisted by the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit and the Maryland Natural Resources Police. The deceased body has been transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore for an autopsy. The identity of the deceased will be released upon notification to family.