Body Identified in Boating Accident Near Bay Bridge

Note: headline was corrected 2-5-16 at 6:42 p.m.

A body recovered at the mouth of the Choptank River has been identified as the boater who fell from his sailboat on New Year’s Eve just north of the Bay Bridge, the Maryland Natural Resources Police said.

Stephen Reynolds, 48, of Baltimore, was identified today from dental records by the state medical examiner’s office.

Reynolds’ body was found by hunters the evening of Jan. 30 along the shoreline of Cook Point, outside Cambridge and about 28 miles south of Sandy Point Light, where a witness said he fell overboard.

Reynolds and a companion left Baltimore the afternoon of Dec. 31 and decided to anchor for the night near the lighthouse north of the Bay Bridge. He apparently had trouble securing the sails and fell overboard about 9 p.m.

The companion told investigators that Reynolds lost his grip on the 30-foot boat and drifted away until she could no longer see him.

Rescue crews from Natural Resources Police, Anne Arundel Fire Department and the Coast Guard searched unsuccessfully for him.

Reynolds was not wearing a life jacket. He was the final boating fatality of 2015.