UPDATE 8/4/2024: The Maryland State Police and the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal are actively investigating a house fire, a missing person report, and a body found in a well at a residence that caught fire on Friday, August 2, 2024.
State police received a missing person report for the occupant and homeowner of the residence. During their investigation, they were informed that the missing person may have located in a well on the property.
Firefighters from Second District, Leonardtown, Hollywood, NAS Patuxent River, and Potomac Heights responded to the scene to recover the body from the well, which was approximately 40 to 50 feet deep.
Crews worked on the scene for over six hours, making multiple attempts to recover the body from the well without success. The recovery was called off around 3:00 a.m. due to concerns about the structural integrity of the well.
Maryland State Police remained on the scene overnight, and on the morning of Sunday, August 4, 2024, specialized confined space rescue technicians and teams from Montgomery County and Prince George’s County responded to assist.
The body was recovered in the afternoon.
The cause of the fire and the death are still under investigation. Updates will be provided as they become available.
No injuries were reported throughout the 10 hours of recovery operations.
Dispatchers advised to responding units they received multiple 911 callers reporting their neighbors house was on fire with unknown entrapment. One caller advised there was vehicle in the driveway which was occupied.
Crews arrived on the scene in under 6 minutes to find fire showing from the rear of the two story “cape cod” style residence.
Firefighters deployed multiple attack lines and entered the residence to begin searches for the possible missing occupants.
Deputies and a K9 unit from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office also responded to assist. Police searched a nearby garage and the nearby wooded area for the occupant(s) of the home while firefighters conducted searches within the residence which all yielded negative results.
Firefighters controlled the fire in under an hour, the fire spread from the rear of the residence and into the first floor and second floor, the attic and through the roof.
Firefighters operated on the scene for over 4 hours.
The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal and the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office is investigating. No injuries were reported. The homes occupants were not located.
Updates will be provided when they become available.
