Maryland Pontoon Boat Operator Drowned, Autopsy Shows
NEW MARKET, Md. (AP) -- An autopsy has concluded the operator of a pontoon boat that went over a dam near New Market died from accidental drowning.
The state medical examiner's office disclosed the information Monday in the death Saturday night of 62-year-old Stephen Hembree at Lake Linganore.
The New Market Volunteer Fire Company says eight others, all juveniles, survived with no apparent injuries. Four had to be rescued.
Fire company Chief Ben Nalborczyk (nahl-BOR'-chak) says first responders didn't find a dog that was reportedly aboard.
Maryland Natural Resources Police say Hembree had borrowed the boat from a friend. Spokeswoman Candy Thomson says no one on the boat was wearing a flotation device.
The 209-acre, private lake is the centerpiece of an unincorporated residential development about 30 miles west of Baltimore.
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