DNR Police arrived at the Solomon's boat ramp on Tuesday afternoon and got directions to the Navy pier from a Calvert deputy sheriff.   The body had first floated in as pleasure boaters were launching their fishing boats and then floated about a 1/4 mile north of the bridge before being snagged by firefighters.  Right photo, a man awaits his fellow fisherman backing up to pick up their boat while firefighters attempt to snag the nearby body.  ST. MARY'S TODAY photos and video

SOLOMON'S ISLAND ---- A grisly scene punctuated the picture postcard afternoon and sunset at Solomon's Island on Tuesday when a fisherman discovered a body which had floated right up to the boat launching ramp under the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge. Bodies are often found when people go missing from either falling off of piers or boats or intentionally jumping from the bridge.  An eyewitness to the discovery of this man said that the body had bloated up to an enormous size, indicating that the person had been underwater for quite some time. 
"He was right up near the boat ramp here when we called the police and then he floated down there towards the Navy pier," the bystander told ST. MARY'S TODAY.
Bodies are sought by Natural Resources Police who drag the river for the recovery but often those efforts prove fruitless due to strong currents and tides.  Sometimes recovery is hampered by bodies becoming snagged by underwater debris or obstructions. 
A man had recently jumped from the bridge after duct-taping his girlfriend to the front seat of his truck and making her watch him take his own life.  Tim Hoofnagle jumped from the top of the bridge in order to elude police and lived, making him one of the few to survive leaping from the bridge. 
A motorist coming from the Governor's Cup festivities in St. Mary's City jumped in broad daylight and was quickly plucked from the water by nearby fishermen, and also survived. 
Calvert Sheriff Mike Evans told ST. MARY'S TODAY that this body is believed to be that of a second man who jumped in late February, leaving a note behind.  A complete report will be available later following an autopsy by the Maryland State Medical Examiner.
 

A Solomon's Rescue & Fire boat brings the body of a man found floating in the Patuxent to shore near the Navy pier at Solomon's Island.  ST. MARY'S TODAY  photo

Fire and police vehicles rushed to the boat ramp under the Gov. Thomas Johnson bridge for yet another recovery of a body believed to be that of a jumper from the bridge.  This man may have jumped three months ago. 
ST. MARY'S TODAY photo