Reply to Mother and child lost in tragic Chesapeake Bay accident, possible connection to former Lt. Governor.

Forum Index » Metropolitan DC Local Politics

Reply to "Mother and child lost in tragic Chesapeake Bay accident, possible connection to former Lt. Governor."

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My uncle drowned years ago in the Chesapeake on Easter weekend early April in a boating accident.  He knew how to swim, but the water is just too cold that time of year.  even with a lifejacket, the water is like a boa constrictor around your chest, every breath in and it squeezes, until you just cannot breath anymore.  Then you either pass out and die of 1) drowning, or 2) hypothermia.  Even if they had life jackets, they would not have survived whatsoever.  My heart breaks for them.

My uncle's body washed on shore 4 days later.  I hope their bodies are found so the family can have some closure. [/quote]

I'm very sorry for your loss.  However, I believe that you are probably wrong about what the outcome would  have been in this case had they been wearing life jackets.

They were spotted struggling in their canoe and a[b] call was placed to 911 at 4:49 PM.[/b]  The Coast Guard responded promptly, and by 7:00 pm, their canoe was recovered.

No one knows exactly when they went into the water, but the temperature in the bay is now in the mid 40s.  People survive 1 to 3 hours in 40 to 50 degree water.  Life jackets would have kept their heads and a portion of their torsos out of the water and provided insulation, buying them additional time before hypothermia set in.

A total of 19 vessels and 5 aircraft participated in the search.  With life vests, they would probably have held on to the canoe or drifted along with it.  They would have been found within one to two hours of entering the water would most likely have survived, even if unconscious by then.

They drowned and sank to the bottom when their lungs filled with water.  The vessels looking for them probably passed over them several times.  In few days, once the process of decomposition fills their chest cavities with gas, they will float to the surface an be spotted or wash up on shore.[/quote]

Thanks for this explanation.  I’m really confused on timeline—were the other kids playing ball with them alone?  If not, did those kids get an adult to call for help?  I thought call for help was made around 4:00pm.  Additional call placed by other homeowners who saw them struggling in their boat around 4:30.

Was the dad working there at the time?[/quote]

I don't know any more about the chronology than is reported in the news:

[quote]Maryland DNR officials said the pair were reported missing around 4:49 p.m. Thursday near Herring Bay in Shady Side. According to officials, they had paddled out to retrieve a ball and were unable to paddle back to shore.

Watchstanders with the Coast Guard got word from the Maryland State Police that two people were seen struggling to return to shore in a canoe and they were not seen again. A man had called 911 from the Columbia Beach community pier where he saw the boaters drifting in the Bay.

At approximately 7:00 p.m., an overturned canoe, matching the approximate description of the one which the pair were in, and a paddle was located near Deale, Maryland, according to Anne Arundel County Fire.

Weather conditions were blustery Thursday with wind gusts between 30 to 35 mph. However, there weren’t any special warnings for boaters issued.
[/quote]

[url]https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/04/03/missing-boaters-maeve-kennedy-townsend-mckean-gideon-annapolis-chesapeake-bay/[/url]

[quote]McKean and her son were playing on a beach in a small, shallow cove behind the house at around 4 p.m. when one of them accidentally kicked a ball into the water. The two attempted to retrieve the ball by paddling a canoe into the protected cove, but ended up in the open bay where strong winds during the day had whipped up vicious currents.

“The cove is protected, with much calmer wind and water than in the greater Chesapeake,” David McKean wrote. “They got into a canoe, intending simply to retrieve the ball, and somehow got pushed by wind or tide into the open bay.”

About 30 minutes later, an onlooker called emergency services to report seeing the pair struggling to paddle to the shore. That was the last anyone saw of them. The Coast Guard recovered their capsized canoe miles away from the beach at 7 p.m. Friday.

The search ended for the night around 7:30 p.m. Thursday and began again Friday morning.[/quote]

[url]https://www.thedailybeast.com/maeve-kennedy-mckeans-husband-posts-tribute-to-wife-and-son-after-maryland-drowning[/url]
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics