In a heartbreaking scene in the Bay off Deltaville, Virginia, the captain of a small fishing boat went overboard and died entangled in his own fishing line, while his female companion tried unsuccessfully to save him.
The woman made an emergency call to Virginia Marine Police just before 3:45 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, reporting that the boat’s owner had fallen overboard near Stingray Point Light. Officers responded to find Lisa Jane Flowers, frantic, aboard a 17-foot Key West. She pointed them to a man, facedown in the water and tangled in fishing lines.
The man was later identified as Steven Drew Higginbotham. Flowers later told police she had been operating the boat while Higginbotham trolled for Spanish mackerel. She said he signaled he had a bite, but when she looked back, he had gone overboard into the water. He was not wearing a life preserver.
Police spokesman Zach Widgeon said, “Despite her attempts to assist, including throwing a life jacket and using fishing poles to reach him, Higginbotham struggled to get back aboard.”
Flowers cannot swim and has limited boating experience. She didn’t enter the water, Widgeon said, but made the emergency call for help.
Winds were blowing 15-20 knots from the south and seas were 2-4 feet, making the response difficult, police say, and a storm was on the way. When police arrived about a half-hour after the emergency call, they found waves crashing over the boat’s deck. Officers began a recovery effort for Higginbotham and others arrived to rescue Flowers, who was in distress from the situation and the rough seas. She was taken to shore and checked out by an EMS crew.
The US Coast Guard towed the Key West boat back to Regatta Point Yachting Center.
In the wake of this tragedy, Virginia Marine Police urge boat owners to make sure everyone on board is familiar with the safety equipment, where it is located and how to use it.
“A throwable flotation device is a must, ideally with a line attached. Unfortunately, in this situation, there was one on board, however the passenger didn’t know where it was stowed,” says Widgeon.
