Maryland Natural Resources Police Blotter

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Baltimore County - On Saturday, March 31, Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged Robert L. Carey, 62, of Fairfax, Va., with reckless operation of a motor vessel, negligent operation of a motor vessel, leaving the scene of an accident without rendering assistance and giving information and operating an unregistered vessel on Bear Creek off of the Patapsco River near Dundalk.

The incident started when Carey attempted to remove his 58-foot, 1973 Hatteras yacht named Mirage, from the Anchor Bay Marina. Carey allegedly broke a piling, struck a houseboat and a 60-foot Chris Craft vessel causing $3000 damage before leaving the marina. Carey continued out of the creek, running underneath the Peninsula Expressway drawbridge before the bridge was raised, scraping the outriggers of his vessel on the structure. NRP stopped Carey near the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Baltimore City Police Department assisted. NRP continues to investigate the incident.

Harford County - On Sunday, April 1, at 11:48 a.m., NRP responded to Rocks State Park for a report of a person fallen from the King and Queen Seat.

Michael C. Ruetter, 17, of Havre de Grace and Michael A. Peterson, 17, of Bel Air were free climbing the rock formation when Reutter fell approximately 60 feet. Ruetter was flown to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Peterson was rescued from the rocks without injuries. Jarrettsville, Bel Air, Whiteford and Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire Departments and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office assisted NRP with the incident.

Worcester County – On Saturday, March 31, at 2:30 p.m., NRP charged Darren Lee Adkins, 38, of Parsonsburg and Joseph Michael Ward, 39, and Wayne Herbert Webster, 41, both of Princess Anne with littering in a state forest.

The three men were observed by NRP while allegedly dumping litter off of Old Beech Road in the Pocomoke State Forest. Ward was also charged with driving in a non-designated area. NRP arrested Adkins on an outstanding warrant and turned him over to the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office.

Worcester County – The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) conducted blue crab enforcement patrols this past Saturday and Sunday, March 31 and April 1 in the back bays of Ocean City. The goal of these patrols is to reduce the number of potential personal injuries due to insufficient safety equipment, and to remind commercial waterman of crabbing regulations specific to fishing the back bays.

Officers checked a total of 41 commercial workboats and issued 24 warnings, mostly for insufficient safety equipment. On Sunday, NRP issued two citations for undersized crabs and one citation for no personal flotation device (PFD). The blue crab season opened April 1 and runs through December 15.

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April 3, 2007

The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) is the enforcement arm of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). With an authorized strength of 280 officers and a dedicated staff of civilian and volunteer personnel, the NRP provide a variety of services in addition to conservation and boating law enforcement duties throughout the State of Maryland. These services include homeland security, search and rescue, emergency medical services, education, information and communications services on a round the clock basis. NRP is the only police force aside from the Maryland State Police that has statewide jurisdiction.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 446,000 acres of public lands and 18,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 11 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov