Drowning Confirmed In Ocean City; Va. Man Identified

OCEAN CITY — Reinforcing the Ocean City Beach Patrol (OCBP) mantra of “keep your feet in the sand until the lifeguard is in the stand,” a Virginia man drowned in the surf near 1st Street despite efforts to rescue and revive him.

Around 7:30 p.m. on Monday, the OCBP and Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD) rescue swimmers were alerted to a swimmer in serious trouble in the area of 1st Street. The OCBP and OCFD first-responders went into the water to rescue the victim, later identified as Timothy Thompson, 35, of Prince George, Virginia, but he went under before they could reach him. He was recovered from the surf about 10 minutes later. Also participating in the search and rescue was the U.S. Coast Guard and the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP).

First-responders on the beach administered CPR on the victim until Ocean City EMS arrived on scene and took over the efforts to revive him. He was transported to Atlantic General Hospital where he was later declared deceased. The incident occurred roughly two hours after the OCBP came off the stands at 5:30 p.m. as they do every day during the summer, reinforcing the all-important public safety message of always swimming in the ocean when the lifeguards are on duty.

“We urge our beach patrons to swim only when the lifeguards are on duty and to take the time to walk to and swim in front of the lifeguard,” said Ocean City Emergency Services Director Joe Theobald. “Our deepest sympathies are with the family who lost a loved one today.”

It’s never a good idea to swim in the ocean after the lifeguards are off-duty for the day, but complicating Monday’s incident were the extremely rough conditions with strong tides, a southern drift and rip currents following the weekend storm. When the OCBP is on duty, always swim near a lifeguard and listen carefully to their instructions. OCBP surf rescue technicians (SRTs) also hold daily advisory sessions each morning, explaining to beachgoers and swimmers conditions unique to that particular day and teaching them how to safely swim out of  rip current for example.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.