Baltimore Police released the identity of the person who drowned near Baltimore Peninsula during the weekend.
Marquis Whitfield, 37, of Baltimore, was pronounced dead at the scene after the city’s dive team pulled him to the shore, according to Baltimore Police Detective Niki Fennoy. Officials said they gave a chain that Whitfield was wearing to his brother.
Firefighters and police responded to the 2600 block of Port Covington Drive in Baltimore Peninsula, previously known as Port Covington, to a report of multiple people in the water Saturday evening. At least two people went into the water to try to rescue Whitfield, who was struggling to stay afloat.
Officials were able to rescue two people, but Whitfield went underwater. Officials tried a shallow rescue but were unsuccessful.
The city’s dive team arrived shortly after and were able to locate Whitfield’s body. They were able to pull him to the shore, but medics pronounced him dead at the scene. The body was transferred to the Maryland medical examiner’s office.
The waters near the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River are a common place for people to swim on summer days. Saturday was marked by record-setting heat in Baltimore, with the temperature hitting 101 degrees at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
