On August 27, 2023 at approximately 5:35 AM, I, Corporal of the Maryland Natural Resources Police, received a call regarding a vessel that had washed ashore at Sandy Point State Park in the East Beach location of the park. After notifying the Maryland Natural Resources Police about the vessel, Sandy Point State Park Duty Ranger, then updated the Maryland Natural Resources Police Communication Center adding two individuals were on board the vessel just waking up after having been asleep.

Upon my arrival, at approximately 6:05 AM, I saw a female sitting on the operator’s chair of the vessel, later identified by driver’s license and a second individual standing next to the vessel drinking a bottle of water, later identified by driver’s license. The anchor of the vessel had been set by one of the occupants and the vessel was sitting on the sand where the 3 to 5 inch waves would break. The 22-foot white Pro-Line vessel displayed current Maryland registration, with dual registered owners. 

Subject and Operator were both awake and alert when I made initial contact with both individuals, however both appeared to have visible injuries to the face and various parts of their bodies. Subject had a laceration to the left side of her temple, a small cut on her left elbow, a contusion on her left thumb, a contusion on the top of her right hand, and bruising on her left knee. 

Operator had a moderate odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his person and exhibited glassy eyes. He had a laceration under his chin and bruising on his left thigh. Anne Arundel County Fire and Emergency Medical Services arrived approximately 6:20 AM to evaluate both occupants who were on the vessel. Both individuals verbally refused medical treatment at the scene. 

Numerous blood droplets and pools of blood could be seen on the center console of the vessel and on the floor in front of the operator's position. A single blood droplet was seen on the vessel’s Garmin GPS unit, which was mounted on top of the center console of the vessel. Blood was also seen on the lid and running down the side of the blue and white Coleman cooler on the vessel, seen in between the operator's chair and the center console of the vessel. Blood could also be seen on the port and starboard gunwales of the vessel.

When asked, Operator stated prior to ending up at East Beach, they were at Tolchester Beach located in Kent County, Maryland. Operator and Subject both stated they were anchored out at Tolchester Beach to watch the sunset before heading back to Bodkin Creek located in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. 

Operator stated he leaves his vessel on a lift at Bodkin Creek. I asked if they were rafted up with friends or at The Shanty Beach Bar, located at Tolchester Beach. Both Operator and Subject denied being at the bar, not ordering any food or drinks, and stated they were not rafted up with friends. When asked if he had any alcoholic beverages in the evening, Operator admitted to Sergeant and myself that he had “about 3 or 4 beers.” Subject stated she had “maybe 2 beers…Mich Ultra,” when she was asked if she had any alcoholic beverage to drink during the evening. 

Because Operator admitted to having alcoholic beverages and had a moderate odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his person, he was asked if he wanted to submit to a PBT. Operator refused to submit to a PTB. He then consented to opening the Coleman cooler located on the deck of the boat, at the time it was in between the helm of the vessel and the operators chair. When Operator opened the cooler, he turned the cooler in a position which would make it harder for me to see inside. The cooler was still on the boat and I was standing on the sand. Operator didn’t remove the cooler from the vessel, rather, he maneuvered the cooler so the lid would block a clear view of the contents inside. While I was attempting to look, he immediately reached inside the cooler and began fumbling with the contents inside the cooler, then proceeded to allow the lid to close while I was looking inside. I was able to see five Michelob Ultra beers and a Snapple tea. Two of the Michelob Ultra beer cans were open, while three of the Michelob Ultra beer cans were unopened. Due to the deceitful behavior Operator displayed while the cooler was open, I cannot confirm if there were more contents inside that cooler.

While talking with Operator, he stated they pulled their anchor at Tolchester Beach around sunset, which according to The Weather Channel, sunset was at 7:47 PM Saturday, August 26, 2023, and began to make their way back to Bodkin Creek. When I originally asked, Operator couldn’t recall how fast he was traveling after leaving the Tolchester Beach area, but then stated he was on plane for about 2 hours until the vessel he was operating “hit something.” 

I asked Operator if he knew what he hit, and he stated “it felt like it was something underneath the boat, and sounded like a ‘bang’” adding that it was dark and he did not see any other boats around them before or after the impact occurred. Operator was very persistent that it was dark at the time of the initial impact. When asked, Operator could not provide or describe any details or identify any navigational markers or lights in the area. I asked Operator if he saw a moon out, to which he responded he did not. 

After the impact, he initially stated that he did not slow the boat down to check his surroundings or look for any damage to the vessel. He then retracted his statement after observing me taking notes, saying that he slowed down, looked around at their surroundings, then made the decision to go to “the beach,” but was unsure of where they were. Although Operator retracted his statement making claim that he slowed the boat down to check his surroundings, he still could not provide me with a description of lights from shore, or navigation lights on the Chesapeake Bay, or even the lights for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Operator stated his GPS unit was on at the time, however claimed he was not utilizing the GPS unit to help him navigate the waterway in the dark.

In Subject’s statement she had mentioned that it was about a half-hour to an hour after leaving Tolchester Beach when “we hit something.” She could not recall what they hit, adding that it was dark when the accident occurred. Subject also described the sound as a “loud bang,” but could not provide any information on what they may have struck. She included in her statement that there were no boats around when they hit the object and could not provide or describe to me any details on identifying navigation lights or markers in the area. 

Both individuals stated that the impact to whatever they hit was so great, it caused the vessel to slow down, causing both occupants to get thrown forward from their seated positions on the vessel. I asked Operator if there were any issues with his motor after the impact, to which he stated “no.” At the time leading up to the collision, Subject stated she was seated to the right of Operator, who was operating the vessel at the time. Operator admitted to operating the vessel that night. He also added that he was comfortable operating a vessel at night, “up until last night.” It is unknown what object the occupants hit which caused the injuries to their faces and bruising to their limbs, however due to th

Sandy Point State Park-East Be
Annapolis                     