RedactedNarrative: On August 9, 2018 at approximately 1035 hours, Ofc, Maryland Natural Resources Police, received a call from dispatch reference a subject drowning on the Monocacy River. Ofc.1 responded to the scene and arrived at approximately 1122 hours along with Lt.. Upon arrival, Ofc.1 made contact with Fire and Rescue personnel. Fire and Rescue personnel advised they had the drowning victim, Victim, secured on the bank, upriver from the Creagerstown Park boat ramp. Fire and Rescue were in the process of transporting other kayakers, from the party, to the Creagerstown Park boat ramp.
  
  At approximately 1130 hours, Ofc.1 made contact with three of the kayakers involved with the drowning incident. The kayakers provided written witness statements of the incident to the best of their ability. 
  
  I was in contact with field officers who were already on scene while enroute to the scene, and was informed that CPR had been initiated, the victim had been kayaking the river and that the only way to access the victim was by boat. Ofc.1 contacted me by telephone and advised that the victim had been declared dead and that the Maryland State Trooper on scene wanted to know if they could move the body. I advised Ofc.1 that the body should stay in place until my arrival. Ofc.1 obtained written statements from the other 4 members of the kayaking party (see attachments). The statements were consistent in nature and supported the facts of the case as we understood them at that time.  
  
  Upon arrival on scene I earned that the victim is a 59 year old had his right lung surgically removed three years ago due to lung cancer. Victim his wife and (3) others launched their kayaks earlier this morning at Rte. 77 and were traveling downstream on the Monocacy. They are all experienced kayakers and had planned to do a 5 - 6 mile trip. None of the kayakers had taken a cellular phone with them on the trip. When the group got to the Legore bridge, the left hand side was blocked by debris, one kayaker went through the middle section and yelled to the others to stay to the right. Victim and one of the other kayakers vessels capsized after striking an apparent submerged obstacle. The witnesses indicate that Victim panicked, stated that he had swallowed water and then became unresponsive. The rest of the group got him to shore where they initiated CPR, while one member continued downstream to Creagerstown in order to contact 911. Victim was pronounced dead at 1039 hours.  
  
  Ofc. and myself were transported to the site by Frederick County Fire Dept. personnel. Victim's body was laying on the river bank with his feet toward the water. The bank was fairly steep slippery mud. Victim was still wearing his PFD, upon our arrival. Law Enforcement on scene stated that the PFD was re-secured on Victim 's body after he was declared dead at 1038 hours, because they didn't want his body to slide off the bank and sink to the bottom of the river. Victim's body was photographed (see attachments) and there were no outward signs of injury or trauma observed on his body. Due to the location of Victim's body, the natural hazards and the logistics of having to make additional boat trips on a river which was running high and muddy, the decision was made in consultation with the Forensic Investigator to transport Victim's body back to the staging area. 
  
  Victim's body was secured in a body bag and transported by boat to the staging area, where he was transferred to the custody of the Forensic Investigator. Victim's body was transported to the Office of the Chief medical Examiner in Baltimore for autopsy. Once Victim's body was transported from the site, Cpl. and I drove over to Legore Bridge Rd. to assess the situation at the bridge itself where the incident began. I have attached photographs of the water conditions and the bridge. We found the left hand side of the bridge as you are coming down stream to be block as reported by the witnesses. The center arch looked to have some obstructions as well but was likely passable, the right passage was the clearest but it was apparent by watching the water flow through that there appeared to be an underwater obstruction close to the left hand side of that arch, which is quite possibly what Victim and the other kayaker hit that caused their kayaks to flip. Photographs of the conditions at the bridge location have also been attached to the report.
  