The search on the Susquehanna River
Updated Nov. 7, 2026, at 11:30 p.m. Central / Nov. 8, 5:30 a.m. UTC.
Emergency rescue teams and marine law enforcement spent a third consecutive day scouring the lower Susquehanna River in northeastern Maryland for an 18-year-old boater whose vessel capsized in treacherous water conditions earlier this week.
The missing boater has been identified as Mark Everett Coates III of Havre de Grace, Maryland, according to the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP). Coates was last seen wearing a chartreuse long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans when he launched his 10-foot aluminum jon boat from the Water Street Boat Ramp in Havre de Grace around 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, CBS News Baltimore reported.
On Thursday morning, a passing civilian reported finding an overturned aluminum jon boat floating near the southern tip of Garrett Island, situated in the river channel between Harford and Cecil counties. Marine units quickly verified the boat belonged to Coates, but the teenager was not located aboard or in the immediate vicinity.
Challenging conditions and multi-agency response
A massive inter-agency operation has converged along the river corridor, drawing resources from the U.S. Coast Guard, Maryland Natural Resources Police, the Susquehanna Hose Company, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, and volunteer fire and dive units from neighboring jurisdictions, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Search operations have relied on side-scan sonar, specialized underwater drone cameras, aviation flyovers, and K-9 scent teams scanning shorelines and islands. However, operations have been severely complicated by persistent high winds, turbulent surface chop, and dropping water temperatures, prompting public safety officials to urge recreational boaters to steer clear of the designated search zone, Cecil Daily reported.
Authorities have requested that anyone with information regarding Coates or who was boating in the vicinity of the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge (U.S. Route 40) or the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge (Interstate 95) on Wednesday evening contact Maryland Natural Resources Police dispatchers at 410-260-8888.
