Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police were searching on the Pocomoke River near Snow Hill on Sunday for the body of a 63-year-old Salisbury man who is presumed dead, according to DNR spokeswoman Candy Thomson.

The search was called off at about 7 p.m. after it became too dark to search for the man, Thomson said. The search is expected to resume at around 7 a.m. on Monday.

Otto Paul Lynch was participating in a two-day bass tournament when fisherman noticed his 19-foot long boat was empty and adrift on the Pocomoke, and called the DNR at 1:12 p.m Saturday. Lynch's friends found his hat floating on the water and recognized it, Thomson said.

The search, which started shortly after the call to the DNR, was hampered by ancient cypress tree trunks which are part of the underwater terrain in that area of the river and are picked up by the sonar DNR is using, Thomson said.

Police were walking the shoreline and using sonar to look for Lynch.

Volunteer fire department personnel and the Worcester County Sheriff's Department are assisting the DNR with the search, Thomson said.