CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (July 17, 2008)—Three men perished this week in two separate boating incidents on the Potomac River near Charles County.
The first incident involved two Virginia men. Their bodies were recovered on Monday from the Potomac River north of the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge.
The search for Juan C. Lopez, 35, and Jose Alexander, 33, both of Woodbridge, Va. started around 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening, July 13 after the two were reported overdue from a fishing trip on the river. Lopez and Alexander had launched a canoe from Wayside Park on the Virginia side of the river.
Alexander’s body was recovered Monday morning at 11:23 a.m. by Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) and the U.S. Coast Guard. Lopez’s body was recovered by the Charles County Dive Team that same day at 2:59 p.m. Neither men were wearing life jackets. Their bodies were transported to Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.
Numerous Charles County Fire Departments, Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, Maryland State Police, Virginia Marine Police and the U.S. Coast Guard assisted NRP with the incident.
The second incident involved Stanley J. Langley, 51, of Indian Head. Langley's body was recovered from the Potomac River near Hallowing Point, Va. by Charles County Fire Department vessels Wednesday, July 16 at 12:35 p.m. Langley’s body was transported to Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.
The search for Langley started around 11 p.m. Monday night, July 14 after he was reported overdue from a fishing trip on the river. Langley had launched his 17-foot motor vessel from the Marshall Hall boat ramp earlier that day and was fishing alone. He was not wearing a life jacket.
Charles County Fire Departments, Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Prince George’s County Fire Departments, Prince George’s County Police Department, Virginia Fire Departments, U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Coast Guard assisted NRP with the incident.