THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 23, 1996 TAG: 9605230332
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON AND JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 45 lines
A Coast Guard helicopter on Wednesday recovered the body of a 2-year-old boy who was missing after a boating accident in Willoughby Tuesday evening, Coast Guard officials said.
Rudolph Grimes of Norfolk and two adults drowned during a fishing trip Tuesday.
The boy, his grandfather and two other adults were in an 18-foot fiberglass boat that sank after taking on water near Harrison's Fishing Pier.
The boy's grandfather, Alex G. Neville, 62, of the 6400 block of Horton Circle in Norfolk, is the owner of the boat.
Neville, Neville's sister, Grimes and a neighbor set out from Willoughby Tuesday to fish near Harrison's Fishing Pier when the boat began to sink, said Lt. Ken Conger of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Neville was rescued about 9:20 p.m. by a passing boat near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel after floating in the Bay for nearly four hours.
Neville, who was wearing a life jacket, called out for help as Jim Armstrong passed by in his 18-foot boat Striker. Neville suffered hypothermia and was taken to Virginia Beach General Hospital, where he was treated and released.
The two adults who drowned were Daisy Taylor, 58, of Enfield, N.C., and Steve Foreman, 77, of Norfolk. Taylor was Neville's sister and Foreman was a neighbor, said Conger.
Conger said the accident was still under investigation Wednesday and could not say what caused the boat to take on water.
``The weather was not too bad, a little windy,'' Conger said. ``We are still looking into that part. According to him (Neville), the boat took water over the stern. He was drifting while fishing, possibly overweighted in the back. That is what we are looking into right now.''
Also aiding in the search Tuesday night were the Virginia Beach police boat and dive teams and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
Conger noted that the drownings occurred at the beginning of boat safety week and urged boaters to be careful during the Memorial Day weekend. ``This is national boat safety week, and the weekend is coming up, so everybody needs to wear their (life jackets).''
KEYWORDS: DROWNINGS ACCIDENT BOAT
FATALITIES by CNB