Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-06-29


the friends and relatives had hope d
against hope that their absence might
be explained the worse fears were
realized this morning when the bodies
of Mrs. Joseph Nee. Bowyer and First
Glass Midhipmen Grisby E. Thomas
and Sherman NJ. Mason were found
near where their abandoned boat was
discovered yesterday afternoon
When found the bodies of the three
were in about eight feet of water and
all were within a space of twenty
feet of each other. That of Mrs.
Bowyer was the first to be located,
when after the search had been re-
sumed at daylight and continued un-
til s o'clock she was seen in a stand
ing posture with her bright golden
hair waving to the movement of the
tide bare foot or two below the sur
face.
When the first sign of dayy began to
appear, the first searching party was
sent out from the Academy in charge
of Seaman G. c. Murray This party
was joined almost at once by h osts of
fishermen and watermen from about
Annapolis, and it was the graphing
hook of William Branzel. one of these,
which brought the body of Mrs.
Bowyer to the surface. This body was
turned over to Boatswain Seedorf,
who was in charge of one of the boats
and short time later the launch
in charge of Boatswan's Mate Spears
located the body of Midshipman
Mason. The search for Thomas re-
mains continued until 8:45, when the
boat hook of Branzel again came in
contact with an obstruction which
proved to be the body of the last of
the unlucky trio.
A bouy had been anchored yesterday
afternoon at the point where th e
abandoned boat was found and it was
in the water about this point that the
search was conducted. Although the
tide had moved from flood to ebb and
back again since the accident sup
posedly occurred, the bodies when
found had apparently not drifted far,
as they were all located within hun
dred yards of the buoy They were in
comparatively shoal water about fifty
or sixty yards from shore.
AS soon as the last body had been
found the three were placed aboard
one of the Academy launches while
the news of their finding was wig
wagged to the lookout posted in the
rigging of the stationship Hartford.
AS soon as the bodies of Mrs. Bow
yer and Midshipmen Mason and
Thomas were brought ashore in one of
the Naval Academy launches, Coroner
John N. Davis was sent for. Super
intendent Bowyer at once appointed a
naval board of inquest to investigate
the drowning only of the middies.
This board is composed of Lieut.. Com
mander j. j. Raby, senior member,
and Lieutenant r. j. Curtin and Sur
peon E. L. Woods, associate members.
AS soon as Coroner Davis saw the
bodies he declared that Mrs. BowyeT
and the midshipmen had met theil
death by accidental drowning, anc
that his verdict late in the day would
be along that line. He declared that
a coroner's jury of inquest was un'
necessary. The coroner believes, a:
the majority of Annapolitans, thai
the middies were drowned endeavor
ing to save Mrs. Bowyer. who had
gone into the water over her head.
The Naval Academy ambulance
was summoned to the Santee whar
after Coroner Davis consented t.
the removing of the bodies, ant
Mrs. Bowyer's body was straightwa!
removed to Taylor's Undertaking es-
tablishment, where it was pre-
pared for burial. The bodies of Mid
shipmen Mason and Thomas wer'
taken to the Naval Academy Hos
pital, where they were also prepares
for burial.
While the affair has cast the deep
est gloom not only in the home o
Captain Bowyer, but throughou
the whole of the Academy and An
napolis social realm, there is roor
for some gladness in that two othe
young Annapolis girls, one of ther
the unmarried daughter of Captai
Buwyer, missed being members of tn
fatal party by the merest chance
Miss Ruth Bowyer had started wit
them to make the trip, but found
too warm, and after reaching tn
mooring point changed her mind
Miss Margaret Hall, one Of the young
er social set of Annapolis, had ais
been asked over the telephone by MiC
shipman Mason to make the trip, bu
was forced to decline by other engage
| ments.
The whole occurrence has prove
such a shock to Annapolitans tha
little if anything else is talked of tx
day. Not only naval officers an
their families, including the younge
ladies of the Academy social set VII
had known Mrs. Bowyer, the more il
timately but tradespeople, and towns
peopl stand in groups about the street
talking of the sadness of the takin