WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard has suspended its search Sunday for a 40-year-old Manassas man who went missing when his boat capsized in the Potomac River near Leesylvania State Park around 8 p.m. Saturday.
Maryland Natural Resources Police is leading the search and have been on the water since 10 p.m. Saturday. According to a Coast Guard news release, Charles County Fire, Prince William County Fire and Police, Quantico Fire and Fairfax Air Rescue aided in Saturday night’s search.
SEARCH CONTINUES: On Potomac near @SmallwoodSP for Manassas man, 40, after boating accident last night.
— Maryland NRP (@MDNRPolice) August 27, 2017
“The biggest hurdle we’re trying to overcome is we don’t have a point last seen,” MNRP spokesman Captain Brian Albert said.
He says two men launched a boat from a beach on the Virginia side of the river. To his knowledge, they weren’t wearing life jackets.
“They hit a pier and the vessel started taking on water.”
Albert says they aren’t yet certain where the boat crashed into a pier.
“They were probably about a half a mile from shore when the boat went down,” Albert says. “So they swam a good ways.”
A 21-year-old man who was also on the boat swam to shore, but they’re not sure where the missing man went underwater.
“In every search, we always hold out that chance of hope that we find him; you know, that he made it to shore. But just in our experience, it’s a possible recovery mission at this time.”
A map of the general area:
WTOP’s Will Vitka and Rachel Pickarski contributed to this report.
