Milford chronicle., 1952-06-20
Six Persons DrOIUR
In Peninsula Area
tconumuea from arst page,

another 13-year-old boy who was
wading in the Bohemia River when
witnesses saw him suddenly begin
to founder and disappear under the
water.
He was identified as Won Walter
Gordon, JT., of Hacks Point, a
newspaper carrier for the News
Journal Company, VINO was playing
near dock not far from the bridge
over the Bohemia River. He was
with three companions, his sister,
judy Gordon, 8, Alan Hill, 9, and
Thomas Faber, II, all of the same
area.
The children had been riding
their bicycles during the afternoon.
and stopped by the river with the
intention of wading and watching
the fishermen draw in their crab
nets.
Gordon was holding on to the
dock, when ne apparently lost his
grip, and fell into the river. He
was Immediately spotted by Thorn
as Pierce, a man described by
neighbOrs as a fisherman in his
early seventies.
State Police Aid Sought
Mr.. Pierce, who lives on a float
ing cabin near the dock, immedi-
cabin near the dock, Immediately
ately rowed to the spot where the
boy disappeared, but could find no
trace of the body. He Immediately
telephoned the Maryland State PO-
lice in ElktOn, and told them of
the drowning.
The message, according to neigh
bors, became delayed en- route to
the police. and the state troopers
did not respond Immediately to the
alarm.
The boys body was recovered by
graphing irons about an hour and
a half after he fell into the river.
The state police conducted the
search for young Gordon, and ap-
piled artificial respiration when the
body was found.
Two more dFOwnings were re-
ported Tuesday Of this week as the
temperature hit new high for the
year of SO degrees before thunder
storms in the Delaware area helped
to bring a drop in the temperatures
but not in the humidity.
The drownings, to bring to a to-
tai of six the member in the PENN
sula area in fOuT-day period, were
reported at the Kruse Pool in Will
mingtOn and in Cambridge, Md
The second drowning victim re-
ported during the day was Handy
Keene, 16, of 10 High Street, Cam
bridge, who died while swimming
in the Cambridge Greek on Monday
night.
He was swimming with four other
boys of about his age when he was
apparently seized with a cramp
while swimming about 20 feet off
shore. When he called for help, one
OF his companions, John Blackhall'
also of Cambridge, went to his
rescue.
Blackhall succeeded in reaching
him in time and attempted to bring
him back to shore, but the boy,
either in pain or in panic, struggled
so hard that Blackhall was forced
to let him go.
Body Is Recovered
The body was recovered about
an hour after the rescue attempt.
Henry Stevens of Cambridge. using
oyster tOngs from a small boat,
drew the boys body from the water
while the boys stepfather, Goslee
H. Johnson, stood watching.
The Kruse Pool victim was iden-
titled as Joseph P. Ayers, about "a,
of 409 Taylor Street. His body was
discovered shortly after 8 o'clock
by Charles Overall, of 315 East Ninth
Street, Wilmington, the first guard
hired at the pool when it opened in
1881, who was making his first
visit to the pool in about eight
years. Overall was practicing swim
ming when he discovered the body.
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