OCEAN CITY POLICE IDENTIFY BODY FOUND IN BAY

NEWS RELEASE

Ocean City Police Department

 

On Tuesday, May 1, 2012, at approximately 6:20 p.m., Ocean City Police responded to the area of 32^nd Street for a report of a possible deceased body in the bay.  The body, which was recovered by the United States Coast Guard, was confirmed to be that of missing 22-year-old Lance Corey Gaines.

 

Gaines, who was visiting Ocean City with his family from upstate New York, was last seen on April 21, 2012 at approximately 1 a.m. at The Sandbar on 33^rd Street and Coastal Highway.  His body has been sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland for autopsy.

 

The cause and manner of death are currently under investigation by the Ocean City Police Department.

Ocean City, Maryland

Body Found Maybe The Brother Of Raven Player Ed Reed

A body believed to be the brother of Ravens safety Ed Reed was retrieved from the Mississippi River on Tuesday, 18 days after Brian Reed went into the water trying to escape from police in Kenner, La.

Identification of the body is pending an autopsy to be performed by the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office on Wednesday.

According to Kenner police spokesman Lt. Wayne McInnis, the body was found less than a quarter mile — and some 30 feet off shore — from the place Brian Reed went into the river around 10 a.m. on Jan. 7.

Texas Equusearch, a volunteer organization that helps families find missing relatives, confirmed the recovery of a submerged body in the area of 153^rd Street in Kenner to New Orleans TV station WDSU.

Tuesday was the seventh day of diving for Texas Equusearch, which thought it had found the body on Sunday in a nearby area. Heavy winds and sporadic rain hampered the search, McInnis said. Three boats used sonar and dragging operations in a search that extended eight to 10 miles downriver before locating the body Tuesday.

"It's premature to say it's Brian Reed until they perform the autopsy [Wednesday]," McInnis said. "The family pretty much had accepted the fact and assumed the worst. They realize it's a chance for closure and that's what they're looking for."

Reed, 29, was stopped by a deputy sheriff from the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office on the morning of Jan. 7 over what was believed to be a stolen car. Karen Reed, Brian's mother, said the car actually belonged to another of his sons.

In an attempt to flee from the police, Brian Davis took off running and went into the Mississippi, where police saw him struggle and finally go under.

Ed Reed, a nine-year veteran for the Ravens, played in the team's first-round playoff game two days later, saying his brother would have wanted him to play. He then went home to St. Rose, La., to assist the family, returning to Baltimore to practice for the second-round playoff game in Pittsburgh.

After losing to the Steelers, Reed again returned to St. Rose to be with his family. He was not available to comment Tuesday night.

Karen Reed said that Brian had struggled with drug and alcohol abuse.

www.baltimoresun.com

Missing Coast Guardsman's Body Located

NEWPORT NEWS

The body of a Coast Guardsman who fell overboard during an anti-terrorism training exercise was found this afternoon.

Crews discovered the body near the Monitor-Merimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel about 5 p.m., a Coast Guard news release said.

The Coast Guardsman's identity was being withheld pending notification of his next of kin. He was an enlisted man from New York, said Capt. Mark Ogle, commander of the service’s Hampton Roads sector.

The accident occurred between the Monitor-Merrimac and Hampton Roads bridge-tunnels at 9:15 p.m. Wednesday as high tide began.

Ogle said the guardsman was part of a team being trained in how to recapture ships that are taken over by terrorists. The crewman was boarding a buoy tender via a ladder as part of an exercise with the cutter Frank Drew when he fell in the water.

The guardsman was wearing a personal flotation device, but it’s not known whether it inflated properly when he fell in the water, said Lt. j.g. Scott McBride.

“We know he had on the same kind that’s a standard part of our tactical gear, but that’s all we can say right now,” McBride said.

A search for the man continued through the day. Ogle said participants in the search included the Coast Guard, police and fire departments from Chesapeake, Newport News, Virginia Beach, Hampton and Norfolk, the Virginia Marine Police, the state police and the Navy. A helicopter and airplanes were also used.

“It is a difficult task to conduct any search and rescue operation, even more so, when it is one of your own that needs help,” Ogle said.

The missing crew member was part of the Coast Guard’s Maritime Safety and Security Team New York, which is based in New York. The unit is in Hampton Roads working with local Coast Guard crews.

www.hamptonroads.com

Body Found On Beach In Ocean City Is Identified

OCEAN CITY — Ocean City police have identified a woman whose body was recovered from the ocean over the weekend. Police spokesman Pfc. Michael Levy identified the woman on Tuesday as 32-year-old Tara Chanise Taylor of Lanham, Md.

Officers called to the beach near 74th Street around 2 a.m. Saturday for a report of a missing person found a friend performing CPR on Taylor. Levy says Taylor appeared to have just been in the ocean. Paramedics took Taylor to Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin where she was pronounced dead.

Levy says police are still investigating the incident, which is not believed to be suspicious.

Taylor’s body has been taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland in Baltimore for an autopsy.

www.delmarvanow.com

Drowned Body At Johnson's Wharf Has Been Identified

PARKSLEY — Family members have identified a body found Sunday in the water at Johnson’s Wharf as a Parksley man.

Elias Espitia, 41, of Neblett Street, apparently went for a walk at 10 a.m., said his sister, Macrina Guzman of Parksley. Someone called 911 at 1:22 p.m. to report a man’s motionless body overboard.

Guzman said Espitia was prone to seizures that prohibited him from driving. She said Espitia may have had a seizure and fallen overboard — family members said he could swim.

Accomack Sheriff’s Office Major Todd Godwin said the preliminary cause of death is drowning, a medical examiner has determined.

Espitia was a handyman who performed carpentry jobs. His family didn’t immediately know he was missing, figuring he was working.

“We didn’t hear anything else from him,” Guzman said on Tuesday. “We knew nothing else until yesterday.”

She said her mother began looking for Espitia on Monday and contacted the sheriff’s department.

Espitia was unmarried and had no children. He is survived by seven siblings and his mother, who lives locally. His father lives in Mexico.

“He was a really good guy — he was always helpful to everybody,” said Guzman.

www.delmarvanow.com

No Identification On Body Found Floating At Johnson's Wharf

PARKSLEY — An unidentified man was found dead and floating near the dock at Johnson’s Wharf near Parksley on Sunday afternoon.
The Accomack County Sheriff’s Office responded after someone called 911 at 1:22 p.m. about the grisly find.

Identification of the victim is pending, Major Todd Godwin of the Sheriff’s Office said.

Sheriff Larry Giddens said the man’s race and other identifying characteristics need to be confirmed by a medical examiner before he releases those details.

Witnesses reported the victim was a white male with dark, curly hair.

Giddens said there have been no missing person reports filed locally in recent days.

The body was transported by Williams Funeral Home in Onancock to the Norfolk medical examiner’s office for an autopsy to determine the actual cause of death.

Investigation is continuing in the case.

www.delmarvanow.com

Child Drowns In Fish Pond In Northampton County

CHERITON — A 2-year-old boy drowned in a fish pond in the front yard of his home Tuesday.

Lorenzo Jermelle Stith Jr. was found unresponsive in the pond and was transported to Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the scene.

Preliminaryreports indicate the toddler was a drowning victim. The incident is still under investigation.

Stith was the son of Tracy Freeman of Columbia, Md. and Lorenzo J. Freeman of Cheriton.

The child’s body was taken to John O. Morris Funeral Home in Nassawadox. Funeral arrangements were pending at press time Thursday.

Northampton Sheriff Jack Robbins declined to release further details of the death.

www.delmarvanow.com