Nov. 14--One person died, and two others were taken to a local hospital after a fishing boat capsized in Essex Wednesday, according to Natural Resources Police.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials have identified the man who died as James Christopher Bills, 24, of Essex.
Bills and two friends had gone fishing around 2:30 p.m. in a motorless 12-foot jon boat near Cox's Point pier in the 800 block of Riverside Drive, and when they came out of the creek into the main stem of backriver, they were met by 10-15 mph winds and 2-3-foot waves, natural resources police spokeswoman Candus Thomson said.
When the three realized they were facing hostile conditions, they tried to turn the skiff around, and were hit by three waves and capsized, Thomson said.
About 20-25 minutes later, another boater was able to get his boat over to save two of them, but he couldn't find Bills, whose friends said couldn't swim, Thomson said. Officials said water temperatures in the area were about 65 degrees.
Baltimore County Fire & Rescue found his body in the 8-feet-deep water around 3:30 p.m.
All three men were taken to Franklin Square Hospital, officials said.
The other boater, whose name was unavailable, was one of the few whose boats are still out on the water this time of year, as many put them away for the winter, Thomson said.
"The fact that this guy saw and heard what he did, and that his boat was still running and got out there is amazing," she said.
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