Local Woman Dies After Hitting Head On Boat

OCEAN CITY – A
well-known local woman lost her life last Friday in a mysterious accident
aboard a boat in the Delaware Bay.

According to The Press of Atlantic City, Elizabeth
Garliss, 39, was aboard the Soggy Dollar, a 52-foot cabin cruiser, when she
apparently slipped and hit her head at 2:52 p.m. The U.S. Coast Guard
reportedly received a call from a man, believed to be a relative, who said
Garliss had a weak pulse and was not breathing.

A release from the Coast
Guard indicated crews arrived on the scene and continued CPR. Garliss was
immediately airlifted to Cape
Regional Medical
Center where she was
pronounced dead.

New Jersey State Police
have listed the incident as an unattended death, but major crimes detectives
are examining the boat for evidence to confirm the story told by others on the

boat that Garliss fell and began suffering seizures, The Press of Atlantic City reported.

The Garliss family is
well-known in the greater Ocean
City area, and Garliss’
father, Joe, has been a mainstay in the real estate industry for years.

Garliss, a graduate of Stephen Decatur
High School and most recently employed
with SoHo Fashions in West
Ocean City,
was best known for being an accomplished ice skater, leading and teaching an
untold number of aspiring skaters at the Carousel Hotel over the years.

Among others, she is
survived by her son, Austin Dundore of Ocean Pines.

A funeral service will
be held on Friday, July 18 at 11 a.m. at St. Paul’s
by the Sea Episcopal Church at 3rd
St. and Baltimore
Ave. in Ocean
City. Friends may call on
Thursday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the Burbage Funeral Home in Berlin.

About The Author: Steven Green

Alternative Text

The writer has been with The Dispatch in various capacities since 1995, including serving as editor and publisher since 2004. His previous titles were managing editor, staff writer, sports editor, sales account manager and copy editor. Growing up in Salisbury before moving to Berlin, Green graduated from Worcester Preparatory School in 1993 and graduated from Loyola University Baltimore in 1997 with degrees in Communications (journalism concentration) and Political Science.