Natural Resources Police, Fire Divers Recover Bodies of Severn River Duck Hunters

The bodies of two duck hunters, who drowned last month when their boat capsized in the Severn River, were recovered today not far from where they were last seen, the Maryland Natural Resources Police reported.

The missing men were identified as Earling Stephen Lamp, of Stevensville, and Matthew Davis of Glen Burnie, both 23 years old.

Guided by images of the river bottom taken by side-scan sonar, divers from the Natural Resources Police and Charles County Dive Rescue brought the victims to the surface. The bodies were taken to the state medical examiner’s Office in Baltimore for autopsies.

Neither victim was wearing a life jacket. They were Maryland’s first boating fatalities of 2016.

The incident occurred on Jan. 19 at 10:50 a.m., near the community of Sherwood Forest north of the Severn River Bridge. Two eyewitnesses told police they saw a man struggling in the water and yelling for help about 100 yards from shore. He disappeared from sight before they could launch a boat.

Police later learned from another hunter that two men had been aboard the 16-foot skiff as it headed down river to the Annapolis launch point. A small-craft advisory was in effect, with winds at 25-35 mph.

Natural Resources Police and Anne Arundel County Fire Department divers searched for three days without success and had to suspend operations when the Jan. 22 blizzard moved in. Surface searches resumed when the storm passed.