Body Found!!

[fish-aholic]

Not sure if anyone has posted this yet, but discussing my upcoming trip with a neighbor he told me about it, so I googled it....

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/loc...ocal-headlines

[Sam]

The body of a young man recovered in the surf off Assateague Island National Park may be that of Lij-Paul Headley, a 19-year-old Morgan State University student who went missing on June 17, Ocean City police said this morning.

Pfc. Barry Neeb, a spokesman, said his department was notified by U.S. park rangers last night that the body had been recovered about 5 miles south of the ranger station. It was that of a young black man, Neeb said.

Headley, of Lanham, apparently drowned when he was swept away by a rip current off the beach between 31st and 32nd streets. His brother and cousin also became caught in the rapidly moving current about 2:40 p.m.

They were in shallow water 75 yards from shore. Police said none knew how to swim and apparently panicked when they were pulled into deeper water. A lifeguard pulled the brother and cousin to safety but lost sight of the student, authorities said.

Neeb said the body will be taken to the medical examiner's office in Baltimore for an autopsy and to confirm the identify.

[Charkbait]

truly a shame.

The article also states none of them knew how to swim...

I'm at a loss for words on that one.

[Steve]

Not knowing how to swim and stepping into the ocean.
Hmmm, I wonder if there was liquid courage (or other) involved.

I hope it was not in vain, I hope it encourages others to take swimming lessons or wear a PFD.

[DumBbaSS]

I was a guard on 11th street for a few summers and some of the stupid things people do ...makes you wonder... I always liked the one where a mother would come up to me and ask me to keep an eye on her kids cause they couldn't swim. Or people standing chest deep in the water telling me that they can't swim. People forget that this isn't a nice pool of water with a well defined bottom. I feel sorry for the young man and his family but somewhere he failed or his parents failed to teach him some basics about water safety

[ffemtreed]

I would guess Steve is on the right track with the liquid courage.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by ffemtreed

I would guess Steve is on the right track with the liquid courage.

It really is hard to tell what happened. That rip can be pretty strong and if you loose your footing, you can get into trouble quickly. One minute you are in 5' of water, the next you are over your head and...

[Steve]

What's really strange, is that people are hesitant to go into a swimming pool if they don't know how to swim. But land sakes, why would they think the ocean is ok to "walk" in?

Sam is right about the current, it will erode the sand from under you and you are gone. I just wonder if there was a "substance" that clouded his judgment.
They released the body the next day, didn't find where they ran a toxicology.

The most I saw on the victim is at:
http://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/artic...?cid=30&id=821