Body of Missing Boater Recovered off Kent Island

The body of a boater, who had been missing from his fishing boat since Thursday, was recovered Saturday afternoon.

64-year-old Jae Jin, a recreational fisherman from Loudon County, Virginia, had spent the night on his boat Wednesday into Thursday, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police (NRP).

The Coast Guard said he had left a marina in Deale, Maryland, and his truck and trailer were still there. A friend had last been in touch with the man around 12:45 p.m.

His boat washed up ashore, still running, in the Kent Point Road area at the south end of Kent Island on Thursday afternoon. Coast Guard Station Annapolissaid the boat had “fishing lines out and freshly caught fish aboard, which prompted the search.”

NRP, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Queen Anne’s County sent boat crews out to search Thursday evening, along with Coast Guard and Maryland State Police helicopters.

A good Samaritan found Jin’s body near Tilghman Island, around 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

At the time Jin disappeared, the water temperature in the area was around 59 degrees Farenheit. According to the National Center for Cold Water Safety, anything below 70 degrees begins to get dangerous, and in 50- 60 degrees, you lose the ability to control breathing.

Meg Walburn Viviano