Subscribe
Community
Man drowns while wading
Town resident, 39, was fishing with friend
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Ortiz
|
E-Mail This Article
The death of a Leonardtown man who waded into Breton Bay on Sunday afternoon and disappeared under its surface has been ruled an accidental drowning, one that occurred despite efforts to revive him.
Alejandro Bardales Ortiz, 39, was no longer breathing when he was located at about 2:30 p.m. off Abell's Wharf, in water that was six feet deep, according to St. Mary's detectives.
Ortiz and a friend, who was accompanied by two children, were trying their luck at fishing at the wharf before Ortiz waded into the bay, according to his cousin, Felipe Ortiz. Alejandro Ortiz did not know how to swim.
"Alejandro played in the water a little bit, under the pier," his cousin said, while the friend remained on shore. "He started fishing, and he couldn't see my cousin."
A passerby in a boat came by, and was warned to look out for the man in the water, Felipe Ortiz said.
The boater could see no one, and eventually jumped in the water to conduct a quick search of the area that found the body of the drowned man.
The people at the scene tried to revive Alejandro Ortiz, detectives report, before he was taken to St. Mary's Hospital and pronounced dead. His body was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore, where the preliminary findings from an autopsy on Monday were released the next day.
Alejandro Ortiz, who moved from Mexico City to St. Mary's about five years ago, worked with his cousin for a pest control business. They also spent much of their free time together. "We were fishing together all the time," Felipe Ortiz said. "He loved fishing."
See related stories
