Recovery Efforts Continue For Missing Boater Near The Bay Bridge
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) – The weather hampers search efforts to find a man missing after his boat sank near the Bay Bridge.
Marcus Washington has more on recovery efforts and how a Good Samaritan came to the rescue.
A water search turns into a recovery as crews look for the body of 46-year-old Adrian Perez. He went missing Sunday afternoon when the boat he and five others were on started to sink when the outboard motor quit.
On Monday, family and friends stayed near at Sandy Point State Park as Maryland Natural Resource Police search the waters near the Bay Bridge.
"He actually knew how to swim, so that's why we have hopes he floated or he swam to shore somewhere," said Yes Senia Barrientos, family friend.
In all, six people were on the 17-foot center console.
The five people rescued say they were having engine problems.
While there were life jackets on board, no one was wearing them. The survivors say that once the boat started to sink, there wasn't enough time to put them on.
"Everything was just too quick. The kids were swimming right next to the boat. They had life jackets. They had just gotten into the boat. They had just taken it off," said Barrientos.
Sky Eye Chopper 13 has captured scenes from some of the more than a dozen boating fatalities.
In 2015, there have been 15 recorded boating deaths on Maryland waterways.
The 12-year-old on the boat with Perez is his son, who told rescuers he tried to save his father.
It was a person on a nearby sailboat that helped rescue five of the six passengers on the sinking boat.
Officials say choppy water and white caps are hampering the efforts. Crews did grid searches to try to find Perez Monday.
