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Fisherman swept away while trying to cool off in bay on family trip, Maryland cops say

In this Wednesday, May 12, 2010, file photo, a man looks out over the Chesapeake Bay, with the Bay Bridge in the background, at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, Md.
In this Wednesday, May 12, 2010, file photo, a man looks out over the Chesapeake Bay, with the Bay Bridge in the background, at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, Md. AP

A fisherman died after he was swept away while trying to cool off on a family boating trip in Maryland during Memorial Day Weekend, according to police.

The family was fishing in the Chesapeake Bay off the shores of Sandy Point State Park on Sunday, May 29, before the man jumped from the boat and into the water, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police said in a statement provided to McClatchy News.

The 43-year-old, of Prince George’s County, is believed to have died from drowning after efforts to resuscitate him “were unsuccessful,” Lauren Moses, a spokesperson for the state agency, told McClatchy News in a statement.

After the man was caught in the current, the family began waving down other boaters for help, according to police.

Eventually, another boater found him and hoisted him from the water before bringing him to a nearby marina, police said. Officers and first responders then tried performing “lifesaving measures” around 12:30 p.m. ET.

Moses said agency police are urging the state’s residents “to wear their lifejackets because accidents can happen quicker than you can imagine.”

In 2021, there were six fatal boating accidents off the coast of Maryland out of 145 reportable incidents, according to a May 26 Maryland Department of Natural Resources news release.

Sandy Point State Park is a 786-acre park situated next to the Chesapeake Bay that provides access to beaches and fishing, among other recreational activities.

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This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Fisherman swept away while trying to cool off in bay on family trip, Maryland cops say."

Julia Marnin
McClatchy DC
Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.
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