1. McNabb, Patrick Portfolio Example A – Maryland Waterman’s Gazette
Two Fishermen Killed; One Missing After Boat Sinks
by Patrick McNabb
[Published in the Maryland Watermen’s Gazette, January 2017]
Captain Roger Dale Grissom 52, of Hughesville, MD, is still missing and is presumed
dead as of November 20th. The award-winning fisherman, father, and friend was last
seen letting go of his boat on the night of Saturday, November 19th after it capsized and
broke apart with three other fishermen onboard during a heavy storm near Breton Bay
in the Potomac River off of St. Mary’s County. The fisherman - Jason Downing, 39, of
Mechanicsville, William Edelen Jr., 48, of White Plains, and Gregory Moore, 55, of
Mechanicsville - had just completed the second day of the Maryland Saltwater
Sportfishing Association’s Fall Classic Rockfish Tournament and were on their way
back to port at Cobb Island when the storm hit. According to the Westmoreland News,
“At 5:08 PM on November 19, a mayday/distress call coming from the Reel Intimidator,
was put out on VHF Marine Radio. The last GPS ping on one of the crew’s cell phones
came at 5:22PM. The crewmembers’ wives called the MDNRP at around 8 p.m.” At the
time, high winds were reported gusting 35 to 46 miles per hour along with four to six foot
waves.
A detailed search was begun immediately by the Natural Resource Police (NRP) and
other local agencies. The Chesapeake Today adds that “Sector Maryland- NCR issued
an urgent marine information broadcast and launched a 45-foot Response boat-Medium
boat crew from Coast Guard Station St. Inigoes and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew
from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to assist. Assets from
Maryland State Police, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Natural Resources Police, and
St. Mary’s County Fire also launched to assist.” The search continued until 2:30 am on
November 20. The search resumed that morning at first light and went on throughout
the day, resulting in the rescue of crewmember Jason Downing, 39, of Mechanicsville,
who was spotted at 6:22 AM atop the hull of the capsized vessel. Downing was
transported by MedStar to St. Mary’s Hospital for treatment. Downing was well enough
to be interviewed by DNR officers and the search was “deemed a recovery by that
Sunday evening.” The formal search was ended by the next day although searches by
friends, family, and concerned watermen continue.
According to a Facebook post by Capt. Lee Tippett (and quoted on The Chesapeake
Today) the sole surviving fisherman Jason Downing reported that, the “hull split at rub
rail front of the boat; all had life jackets on. Jay says Roger Grissom let go a half hour or
better before the other two souls.”
There is some controversy about whether the Tournament should have been held at all.
The Westmoreland News that according to local fisherman Bill Newton, “I have fished
the Potomac and the Bay for over 50 years … I realize that everybody’s life on the

2. McNabb, Patrick Portfolio Example A – Maryland Waterman’s Gazette
waters is ultimately their own responsibility, but the tournament committee has some
responsibility in this too. They had plenty of advanced warning about the weather, and I
would have hoped that they would have enough experience and common sense to
either postpone or cancel Saturday’s tournament. Those two men would probably still
be alive if they had.” (Ultimately the Tournament was cancelled for its planned third day
that Sunday owing to the bad weather).
Grissom’s body has still not been located. The bodies of two of his companions,
Gregory Moore and William Edelen Jr, were found during the initial search. In his
Facebook post, Capt. Tippet advised that the “boat has been found (roughly 52 miles
away from where Jay was found) along with a few of [Grissom’s] belongings” on Tangier
Island.
Grissom is survived by his children Roger Dale Grissom Jr., Justin Dale Rison,
Raymond Matthew Rison, Jessica Lauren Burroughs, Katelyn Elizabeth Burroughs,;
grandchild Adam Joseph Rison; siblings Thomas Bridgett, Sue Bridgett, Junior Williams,
and many others.