Two people have lost their lives boating on the Elk River during two different boating accidents in the same area.
On Sunday night, July 10, Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) responded to reports of a vessel that overturned on the river just before 6 p.m.
It happened in Earleville, near Elkview Shores, according to the Cecilton Volunteer Fire Company.
The 14-foot aluminum rowboat was anchored on the river with five people in it, according to police. None of them was wearing a life jacket. When the boat overturned, all five people were thrown into the water. A good Samaritan was able to rescue four of the boaters, but one passenger remained missing.
Police say the missing man was Shawn Wagner, 37, from Wilmington, Del. NRP launched a search along with the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, a Maryland State Police helicopter, Cecil County Fire & EMS, the United States Coast Guard.
Unfortunately, Wagner’s body was recovered on Monday morning. The incident is under investigation.
It happened just four days after a 39-year-old woman died in a boat collision also on the Elk River off Turkey Point, practically within sight of the most recent accident. As Bay Bulletin reported, the 21-foot bowrider Kara McCarthy was riding on hit a channel marker around 10 p.m. The boat’s two other passengers suffered minor injuries. That crash is also under investigation by NRP.
-Meg Walburn Viviano
