Body Recovered Of Missing Swimmer In Patuxent River
HOWARD COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- A search for a missing swimmer in the Patuxent River ended Tuesday afternoon when rescue crews recovered a body.
Officials said the man's body was recovered around 2:15 p.m. which ended an hours-long search.
A water rescue began Tuesday morning after a man was seen swimming in the Howard Duckett watershed area. He reportedly went underwater and didn't resurface.
Howard County Fire & EMS, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Services, Maryland DNR and state police crews responded to the area near end of Batson Road off Rt. 198 between the Tridelphia Reservoir and Rocky Gorge Reservoir to search for the missing swimmer.
The call came in around 11:20 a.m. after an adult man was in the water, went under and wasn't seen again, according to officials.
"Apparently he was swimming across the lake in an area at the end of Batson Road and went under and never resurfaced," Peter Piringer, of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, said.
The search team on boats used sonar, scanner and dive teams to search for the man. A state police helicopter was above the scene surveying.
Nearly an hour and a half later, the victim's body was found.
Alex Rodgers said he was fishing nearby.
"It's always disappointing," he said. "You never wish that on somebody, and you don't wanna hear about it."
Although signs strictly prohibit swimming in the area, local fire and rescue officials said since the start of summer, they've seen an uptick in water rescues.
They're warning people to always be vigilant when on the water.
"Never swim alone and take every precaution," Piringer said. "Don't let your guard down."
Officials have not yet identified the man. They said he was with someone at the time who was able to make that call for help.
