Hunters Found Who 'Probably Died For Each Other' (ICYMI)

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ANNAPOLIS, MD — Searchers on Wednesday found the bodies of two best friends who drowned after their boat sank three weeks ago on the Severn River when they were duck hunting.

Maryland Natural Resources Police say the missing hunters are Earling Stephen Lamp, 23, of Stevensville and Matthew Davis, 23, of Glen Burnie. Lamp was married and leaves behind three young sons.

Wednesday afternoon the state agency said on Twitter that its officers and members of the Charles County dive team recovered the men’s bodies in the Severn River.

The bodies were confirmed as Lamp and Davis, authorities said.

“They had tons of fun … they were inseparable,” Davis’ brother, Christopher, told The Capital-Gazette. “And they probably died for each other.”

The bodies of the two duck hunters were recovered not far from where they were last seen, the Maryland Natural Resources Police said. A small-craft advisory was in effect when the men’s boat capsized, with winds at 25-35 mph.

Neither victim was wearing a life jacket.

Guided by images of the river bottom taken by side-scan sonar, divers from the Natural Resources Police and Charles County Dive Rescue brought the victims to the surface. The bodies were taken to the state medical examiner’s Office in Baltimore for autopsies.

On Jan. 19, witnesses reported someone was in the water 100 yards from shore near Beach Road yelling for help; then a man went under and did not resurface.

A Coast Guard crew found debris matching the description of what the two men had aboard their 14-foot boat, and a Jon boat was pulled from the river a day after the accident.

Lamp and Davis were teammates on the Broadneck High School soccer team. A public memorial service for the friends is planned for Feb. 15 at Broadneck High School.

As of Feb. 10, $48, 201 had been donated on aGoFundMe site to help Lamp’s wife, Lynette, and the couple’s three young sons, all under the age of 5.

A post by the page’s creator, Annette Munroe, says of Lamp:

“Stephen Lamp was a great friend, brother, and loving husband to his high school sweetheart Lynnette. He was known by all as a fantastic father to their three young boys ages 5, 3 and 4 months. While we try to hold on to a little hope, Lynnette and the boys will need our support in many ways.

At just 23 this young family had it all but unfortunately life can change in an instant. This is the kind of story that will affect our community for a long time. We all want to do anything we can to help and this page is meant to allow us to start that in some small way.”

A similar page on GoFundMe set up in Davis’ name had raised $10,100 by the end of January; it was taken down Feb. 10. Organizers say the donations will pay for a family memorial service for Davis.

GoFundMe page:

Lamp family: www.gofundme.com/lampfamily

»Photo of searchers on Severn River, courtesy of Maryland Natural Resources Police