Man’s Body Found in Choptank River

Three Rescued from Bay; One Man Still Missing on Sassafras River

DENTON, MD - The body of a man found Sunday morning in the water at Choptank River Yacht Club in Denton is at the state medical examiner's office awaiting a cause of death, police said Sunday night.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police found the body at about 11:30 a.m., and contacted Maryland State Police about an hour later. DNR alerts MSP when a death is considered suspicious or unattended.

Police continued investigating at the scene early Sunday night, and had tentatively identified the man, described as a black man, about 70 years old, who lived in the Denton area. At press time, police had not alerted the man's family and did not provide his identity.

The man's identity will likely become available today, with his cause of death pending autopsy results from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore.

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UPDATE -

Maryland State Police are investigating the death of a Caroline County man whose body was found yesterday in the Choptank River near Denton.

The man is identified as Louis R. Nichols, 71, of the 300-block of South Fourth Street, Denton, Md, where he lived with the daughter of his deceased spouse. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause and manner of his death have not been determined at this time. His body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.

At about 11:00 a.m. on July 24, 2011, a man fishing in the Choptank River just north of business Rt. 404, saw a body in the water near the west bank of the river, not far from the old Rt. 404 bridge. Deputies from the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office responded, along with Natural Resources Police and criminal investigators from the State Police Easton Barrack. State Police Homicide Unit investigators were contacted and are leading the ongoing investigation. A cause of death was not immediately obvious to investigators.

Investigators have learned Nichols worked at a restaurant in Ridgely. He left work at about 9:00 p.m. on July 23rd and visited at a friend’s house nearby until about 10:00 p.m. At this point in the investigation, that is the last time he was seen alive.

The investigation is continuing.