Maryland Natural Resources Police identified Brian Christopher Tilley, 53, of Washington, D.C., after a body recovered from the Potomac River near Leonardtown was reported by commercial crabbers south of Breton Bay, near Riverwinds Drive, according to The BayNet.
Tilley’s boat had been found empty near the shoreline of a residence in Montross, Virginia, on Sept. 7, prompting a five-day search. The effort involved Maryland State Police Aviation, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Westmoreland Fire Department, the Cobb Island Fire Department, Virginia Conservation Police and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, The BayNet reported.
Maryland officers responded Friday morning after the crabbers reported the discovery. Dispatch information placed emergency crews near Riverwinds Drive at about 11:05 a.m. and said the person in the water was tangled in a crab-pot line, according to The BayNet.
Maryland Natural Resources Police are investigating Tilley’s death. Foul play is not suspected, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore is expected to conduct an autopsy, The BayNet reported. The official cause and manner of death, along with how Tilley entered the river, have not been determined.
Maryland boating safety context
Maryland recorded 112 reportable recreational boating accidents in 2024, resulting in six deaths, 72 injuries and more than $8.2 million in property damage, according to The BayNet, citing the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2024 Recreational Boating Statistics report. The available figures provide statewide totals but do not identify a specific cause for Tilley’s death or provide a breakdown of causes in this case. The U.S. Coast Guard says its annual statistics are compiled from reported accidents submitted by states, territories and the District of Columbia. For boating on Maryland waters, Maryland Natural Resources Police says anyone born on or after July 1, 1972, must possess a boating safety education certificate when operating a numbered or documented vessel. A mechanically propelled vessel principally operated in Maryland must also be registered with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, according to Maryland Natural Resources Police.
