RedactedNarrative: On September 29, 2021, at approximately 0715 hours, Maryland Natural Resource Police – Queen Anne's County units were dispatched to the Chester River at the mouth of Reed's Creek for a boat accident. Maryland Natural Resources Police, was contacted at approximately 0800 hours by the Special Operations Duty Officer to respond to  Centerville, Maryland, for a deceased boater. I arrived on the scene at approximately 0930 hours.
  Upon arrival, I learned that the deceased was identified as OP 1. OP 1 had been recreationally crabbing on the Chester River near the mouth of Reeds Creek on his 1983 twenty-two-foot C-Hawk center console with three additional males. 
  At the time of my arrival, no occupants or witnesses were on the scene. CPL 1, with the Maryland Natural Resources Police, was the first on the scene and collected all pertinent information regarding the occupants and witnesses. CPL 1 stated that at approximately 0700 hours, a commercial crabber, was crabbing by trotline in the area of Reed's Creek on the Chester River. Crabber 1 had just finished a run on his line when he observed what appeared to be a capsized vessel in his vicinity. Crabber 1 called over his VFF radio to another commercial crabber, later identified as Crabber 2, regarding the capsized vessel. Both crabbers began to make way towards the vessel for assistance.
  Once on scene, Crabber 1 observed a male face down in the water with a second male swimming nearby. Two additional males were clinging to the capsized vessel. Crabber 1 was able to get a rope around the male who was face down, OP 1, and pulled him so that his head was above the water. Crabber 1 could not pull OP 1 onto the vessel without assistance. Crabber 1 then placed a ladder over the edge of his vessel so that the male swimming, could board his vessel. Crabber 2 retrieved the other males, PAX 3 and PAX 2, from the capsized vessel and got onto his vessel. Crabber 2 relayed the males to Crabber 1's vessel, where they assisted in getting OP 1 onto Crabber 1's vessel. Crabber 1 then took the subjects into his dock. Queen Anne's County Fire Department intercepted the vessel and began life-saving measures on OP 1; they also evaluated the other occupants who refused medical treatment. At 0814 hours, Paramedics with the Queen Anne's County Fire Department declared OP 1 deceased.
  At approximately 0940 hours, shortly after my arrival, Forensic Investigator arrived on the scene and performed an initial exam. The body was intact with no signs of an obvious injury or foul play. Investigators located thirty-eight dollars in OP 1' right shorts pocket in the form of two ten-dollar bills, two five-dollar bills, and eight one-dollar bills. CPL 1 took possession of the money to count it with Acting Lieutenant as a witness. CPL 1 then placed the money into a brown paper bag to be returned to OP 1' next of kin. Investigator contacted Springbok Dignity for transportation of OP 1 to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, Maryland, where an autopsy would be performed.
  At approximately 1400 hours, Corporal and I met with the other occupants of OP 1' vessel, PAX 3, PAX 1, and PAX 2 Each of the individuals was questioned separately and gave a similar explanation to the events that led to OP 1' death. They stated that OP 1 had crabbed in the same area and harvested approximately a bushel of crabs the week prior. Since they had not been getting as many crabs in the areas they were crabbing earlier that week, they decided to try the mouth of Reed's Creek again. They met at 0630 hours at Long Cove Marina in Rock Hall, Maryland, to launch the vessel. They arrived at the area they wanted to crab in at approximately 0700 hours and began to lay the trotline with the direction of the waves. While laying the trotline, it became entangled in the prop of the vessel. OP 1, who was operating at the time, backed the vessel up before putting it in neutral so they could attempt to release the line. PAX 3 and PAX 1 were in the vessel's stern attempting to free the line, while PAX 2 was at a seat in the bow.
  As they attempted to free the line, they did not notice how much water was entering the vessel due to the waves being two to three feet in height. Eventually, PAX 3 said that he noticed the amount of water in the vessel's stern and yelled for OP 1 to turn on the bilge and get on plane so that they could empty the vessel of water. Unfortunately, there was too much water in the vessel already, and their attempts to empty it failed. Within minutes the vessel began to sink to the stern before rolling to the port side and capsizing. All four males grabbed onto each other in a circle to attempt to stay afloat, but with the roughness of the water, they were unable to. Eventually, PAX 3 and PAX 2 were able to make their way to the vessel's bow, which was still above water, to cling to it. OP 1 began to get fatigued, and the water started to pull him away from the vessel. PAX 1 swam after him and attempted to hold him above water since he was beginning to flounder. PAX 2 then became fatigued himself, just as a waterman arrived on the scene to assist them. All three males stated that they did not have enough time to locate and retrieve the personal floatation devices from the vessel's bow. They stated that they were in the water for approximately forty-five minutes before help arrived.
  There is no foul play suspected in this investigation
  