Body Recovered Near Perryville Pier: Police

PERRYVILLE, MD — The body of a boy who went into the water near the Perryville Pier Tuesday evening and did not resurface has been recovered, police said.

Dylan Pierce, 13, of Perryville, was found near the pier at 10:20 a.m. on Wednesday, the Perryville Police Department said in a statement.

At 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Pierce had been playing with friends when he tried to reach for one of the pier's pylons and fell in the water, police said. His friends left the pier to enlist nearby construction workers to help, police reported.

At 5:12 p.m., the Community Fire Company of Perryville reported that it was notified a 13-year-old boy had fallen into the river at the end of the town pier, and he had not surfaced for 10 minutes.

The Susquehanna Hose Company sent its rescue boat and dive team to the scene before 5:30 p.m., and for hours before the sun set, rescuers looked for the 13-year-old boy in teams of two.

In addition to the hose company's dive team, a Coast Guard boat and helicopter and Maryland State Police helicopter were used to search the surface of the river and the shoreline from above, the fire company reported. Scuba equipment and sonar helped crews look for the boy underwater.

"Efforts were challenging for divers due to the current of the river and large amount of debris on the river bed," according to a statement Tuesday from the Community Fire Company of Perryville.

At 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday, the Susquehanna Hose Company reported that its divers were turning in for the evening due to nightfall and would resume their search Wednesday morning.

Maryland Natural Resources Police and the Susquehanna Hose Company discovered Pierce's body near the end of the pier at 10:20 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the Perryville Police Department.

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File photo of Perryville pier courtesy of the town of Perryville.