Body found on beach in Mayo

Police said they did not know yet whether the body belongs to Jerard “Jerry” Robert Welsh, 49, who lives alone near Annapolis.

“They might not even be related,” said Sgt. Art Windemuth, a spokesman for the Maryland Natural Resources Police. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

The body was found on Beverly-Triton Beach Park in Mayo at about 4:30 p.m., Anne Arundel County police said.

It was found by Suzanne Giles, who lives nearby and was taking a walk along the beach just as the sun started to set. She immediately called a park ranger she knew, and he called the police, she said.

“You see things on the beach all the time. I pick up things like coats, jackets and hats,” said Giles, who has been taking daily walks in Beverly-Triton Beach Park for the past 12 years. “I could see it was a person this time. I knew he must be dead, because nobody would be lying that close to the water.”

The man was barefoot and wearing faded shorts that may have had a print on them, she said.

“I’ve found dead otters and deer and other things, but not people,” Giles said.

Welsh was reportedly wearing plaid shorts and a dark shirt when he went missing Nov. 3.

Jason Miller, a Good Samaritan on a sailboat, last saw Welsh kayaking off the mouth of Oyster Creek, near Highland Beach just south of Annapolis.

When Miller returned from his trip, he found the yellow Perception Jazz kayak that Welsh had been paddling empty and drifting, with a life jacket and paddles floating nearby.

Welsh’s Chevrolet Avalanche was parked near the Oyster Creek Community Harbor.

For 15 hours, rescue crews combed 62-square nautical miles, using a helicopter and boats, before suspending the search on Nov. 4.

Welsh was the second local person reported missing on the water this month. On Nov. 5, Gregory Luckett of Pasadena, also 49, fell off the back of a 25-foot construction barge into the South River, near Thomas Point.

His body was recovered Monday after a windsurfer spotted it in the river near Mayo Beach. --- ehulette@capitalgazette.com

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Jerry Welsh - 2009-11-23 23:00:49

I knew Jerry when I was a kid and a teenager. He hung out with my parents and my uncle when we were all down at Wicomico.

My prayers are with you Aunt Gloria & Uncle Preston!

Love,

Cyndi

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Cynthia Turcotte - Deland, FL - Karma: Neutral

Greg Luckett - 2009-11-21 21:12:38

I worked with Greg for a couple of years in the Marine Construction business. He is going to be missed very much. I don't know how someone can just fall off the back of a barge and no one calls 911 or the Coast Guard for more than an hour. I think there is much more to this story than what is being said. I hope someone out there is doing there job. RIP "LUCK"

Marc Hans - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral