The body of a boater who went missing in Ocean City was recovered Sunday morning, officials said.
Maryland Natural Resources Police officers found the body of a person who fell Saturday from a boat into the Assawoman Bay near 126th Street in Ocean City, according to a statement. The victim's identity is not being released pending notification of the next of kin.
Alcohol is believed to be a contributing factor in the accident that took place around 7:30 p.m., when the victim, who was a passenger, fell from a moving 24-foot-pontoon boat, according to the NRP.
Officials said Robert Stanley Holmes, 53, of Lansdowne, was operating the boat when the victim fell off the bow. Holmes and other passengers searched unsuccessfully for the passenger.
After several agencies searched for the victim late into Saturday night, NRP police resumed the search on Sunday morning and found the body near the accident site around 9:50 a.m., police said. The incident brings the number of fatal boating accident victims in Maryland this year to 16.
NRP Special Operations Division continues to investigate the accident.