CHURCH CREEK, Md. — Maryland State Police are investigating after a man's body was found in a marshy area along Golden Hill Road in Church Creek.
Dorchester County Sheriff's deputies first responded to the area on Aug. 15 after a report of a body in the tall grass. Deputies later asked the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit to take over the investigation.
Tommy Gootee, who owns Gootee's Marine just up the road, remembers that Saturday afternoon vividly.
"It was a Saturday afternoon, close to closing time. We closed at 2:00 on Saturdays. Two gentlemen came in to the store and talked to our store clerk about using the phone to call 911...So they came in, said there was a dead body just up the road here," Gootee said.
Neighbors in the small, close-knit community say incidents like this simply don't happen in Church Creek.
"I couldn't believe it, because this is a very, very sleepy town. I hate to say nothing bad happens. It's just everybody works, or, you know, and everybody knows everybody," Mandy Insley said.
As of Thursday, state police said they do not yet know the man's identity and are awaiting autopsy results. Police say the circumstances surrounding the death remain under investigation.
Anyone with information relevant to the investigation is urged to call Maryland State Police at 202-953-1903.
