Woman’s Body Found On Beach – Sunbathers Still Set Up Around Body In Ocean City
A public works crew sweeping a beach in Ocean City, Maryland, were alerted by early morning beach walkers that they found an arm and a hand sticking out of the sand. The workers notified the police, who immediately roped off an area of the beach and started their investigation. It seems the discovery of a body did not change a thing for the sunbathers, who set up their beach camps all around the investigation scene with the woman’s body still there.
The Ocean City Police Department arrived on the scene in the area of Second Street at about 6:30 a.m. and conducted a preliminary investigation. According to CBS News, it wasn’t until 4:30 p.m. that the body was finally removed from the roped-off area of the beach. The woman has been identified and reports indicate she was at this beach in Ocean City on vacation with her family.
The 30-year-old woman was found dead in a hole in the sand on the beach with only her arm and hand left exposed, reports Patch. She has been identified as Ashley O’Connor of Plano, Texas. Law enforcement officials said their preliminary investigation suggests her death was accidental, but they are not ruling out anything yet.
Ocean City, Maryland is a popular vacation spot. As the woman’s death was being investigated on the shoreline, sunbathers were right next to the spot, soaking up the sun. One beachgoer, Kim Dugam, told the local CBS News, “I guess it was shocking just seeing all these people just kind of moving around and vacationing when there’s someone that’s deceased right behind us. It’s a little unsettling.”
People commenting on the CBS article were not too shocked about the beachgoers enjoying their time in the sun and surf all around a scene of death with investigators combing the area. DW1121 writes, “People are so desensitized! Just don’t spoil their sunbathing it could be 10 dead bodies, and getting the sun seems more important! Unreal!”
According to the New York Daily News, Ocean City Communications Manager Jessica Waters said that at about 2 a.m., O’Connor had become separated from her family. She was found dead on the beach that same morning about four hours later. It didn’t look as if she had gone swimming, according to authorities. Police are waiting on the medical examiner to provide the cause of death once the examination and tests are complete.
[Featured Image by Smolaw/Shutterstock]
