Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-26
Fourth in Party Is Rescued
After Floating In River
for rs Hours.
TRIO FEARED LOST HAD
TRIED TO SWIM TO SHORE
Each Took Life Belt-May Have
Been Carried Onto Island by
Wind During Storm.

A seaplane, fishing smacks and speed
craft were searching the lower stretches
OF the Potomac River near Kettle Bot
tom Shoals today for three men, two
of them Washingtonians, who have
been missing since their 26-foot speed
boat sank in Saturday afternoons
storm off Cobb Island.
A fourth member of the party, who
was picked up by fishermen after he
had f1oated In the river for IS hours
with the aid of two seat cushions, Is on
his way to his home here.
The only known survivor Is Francis
D. Klimktewicz, SO years old, Of 1872
Twelfth street northeast. Missing are
his 17-year-old son, Richard; his SON.
tn-law, owen D. Whitcomb, 80 years
old, and Arthur Fenwick, oyster inspec-
tor at Piney Point, Md.
Water Smashes Windshield.
The party left the Klimkiewicz home
at 1880 o'clock Saturday morning to
drive the speed boat to st. George Is
land, where they have a Summer cot
tage. Near Kettle Bottom Shoals about
3 o'clock they ran into the worst of
the storm.
The gale-whipped water smashed the
windshield of the boat, flooding the
craft with water. Richard, an expert
swimmer, donned life belt and dived
overheard to swim ashore for help.
When last seen by his companions. he
was nearly halfway to the shore, about
one-quarter Of a mile away.
A few minutes later the boat went
down, leaving the other three men
houndering in the river.
Fenwtck and Whitcomb seized life
belts and started to swim toward the
shore. The elder Klimkiewicz, the only
member of the party unable to swim,
could not find a life belt, so he placed q
seat cushion under each arm and man
aged to stay afloat. Late Sunday after
noon, after he had been in the water rs
hours, he was picked up by fishermen
near the Virginia shore. He was suffer-
ing from exposure and q cut on the
hand, but otherwise was none the worse
for his narrowing experience.
Police Boats Search Vicinity.
He told his rescuers that the waves
were running so high when the boat
went down that his companions could
not aid him, despite the fact that they
were good swimmers. When he last
saw them, he said, they were swimming
toward shore.
Klimkiewicz was taken to the home
OF Z. c. Stewart, at Stratford, Va,
where he spent the night before start
AAA6 OnSA " washington IOudy,
Maryland State police boats, under
the command of Capts. A. P. Cullison
and Edward Plouder, together with a
number Of fishing smackS, searched the
river near the spot where the boat
went down several hours this morning,
but found no trace of the missing men.
1t was feared they had drowned.
Chief Aviation Pilot P. r. Gum left
the Naval Air Station In a seaplane
this morning to search the river for
the three men. His superior officers
had not heard from him at noon TODAY.
Several speed boats also left Washing
ton this morning to participate In the
search.
Mrs. whitcomb motored to Cobb
Island last night shortly after she
learned from her father Of the acci-
dent, but was unable to learn anything
as to the whereabouts Of the missing
men. She believes they may have been
carried ashore by the wind on some
uninhabited island, from which they
have been unable to communicate with
the parties searching for them.
Whitcomb, who Is employed BY a re-
frigerator company, lived with his
father-in-law. Richard 10 O student ct
Qonzaga High School. Mr.. K1imkiewicz
is contractor.