Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1929-09-06
Four Are Drowned In Potomac
River.

Four persons, two of them children, wer
drowned In the Potomac River at Seneca
this county. last Sunday. Three lost thei
lives when a motor boat. in which thu
party was riding sank. The fourth los
his life when he stepped out of his deptf
and was unable to swim to safety.
The dead are:
Mrs. Ray Wilson Waters, SO years old
of Rockville.
Martha, her 6-year-old daughter.
Thomas Dawson. Jr.. 6 years old. Of
Rockville.
Melvin Myerly. 20 years old. of Mount
Rainier, Md.
The triple tragedy occurred at about 7
O'Clock last Sunday evening. when party
of four adults and three children was
crossing the river in a small motor boat
which had been hired for pleasure ex-
cursion. In the party were Mr.. and Mrs.
Thomas L. Dawson and their two children,
Thomas, Jr.. 6. and Anne. 4: Mr.. and Mrs.
Richard Waters and their daughter, Martha.
The accident is believed to have occurred
when Mrs. Waters called out to her hus-
band. who was attending to the engine, to
cut it off. 1t is said that she feared the
effects Of the wake set up by another motor
craft. Mr.. Waters is said to have cut off
the power, and Immediately a wave set
up from the prOpeller's wash combed over
the gunwale of the boat and it sank.
When the accident occurred. William
de Vries. of Hagerstown. and VIM. Stin-
son. of Howard county. sons-in-law of z.
McCubbin Waters. of this county. in an
other motor boat sped to the rescue They
said later that Mr.. Dawson stood either on
the river bed or rock juttine out and held
his wife and daughter Anne, and pleaded
with rsscuers to save his wife and child.
The rescue party managed to get all three
aboard. Mrs. Waters was floating in the
river nearby, and an oar was extended to
her. She made clutch for it, missed it,
and sank out of sight.
Meanwhile. a second rescue boat had
reached the scene. manned by Stedman
Prescott, Rockville lawyer. and other
members of the Seneca Club. This party
rescued Mr.. Waters but Mrs Waters and
the two children had been lost to sight.
Darkness greatly hampered the work of
the rescue party. Had the accident oc-
Cured in daylight it is probable that all
mi hau A id oil
Rockville and Kensineton Fire Departments
brought the firemen, equipped with search
lights. pulmotors and other life-saving APP
paratus to the scene. but it was full hour
before the volunteer divers had brought
the three bodies to shore.
Three physicians worked franticaly over
the bodies, but in vain. A large crowd
had gathered on the banks of the river.
and members of the Rockville Police De-
partment formed guard line.
Mr.. Waters is an employee of the National
Cash Register Co.'S Rockville office. Mr..
Dawson is a wellknown Rockville attorney.
Mrs. Waters was daughter of J. Frank
Wilson, formerly of Kensington, and Mrs.
Clara Ray Wilson. She was a niece of
Preston B. Ray. clerk of the Circuit Court
here. Two sisters. Mrs. William L. Town
send. of Kensineton, and Mrs. Dexter M.
Bullard. of Rockville, also survive her.
Mr. Myerly was drowned earlier in the
day near the same place. He was wading
in the river in company with Miss Hannah
Butler, Of Washington. when he stepped
into deep hole. Neither of the party was
able to swim. and Miss Butler, seeing him
in difficulty. summoned help. Several per-
sons nearby dived and made unsuccessful
attempts to save him. His body was re-
covered an hour later, but efforts to revive
him with pulmotor failed.
Mr.. Myerly was the son of J. G. Myerly
of Poolesville. He is survived by two
brothers. one of them the Rev. Stockton
Myerly, pastor OF the Methodist Church at
Colesville. and sister. He was unmarried