Story Category: Live Updates »

On Oct. 23 at approximately 11:34 a.m., units from the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office and Maryland State Police responded to the Dominion LNG Plant Gas Dock located at 2100 Cove Point Road in Lusby, to investigate a reported industrial accident. Members of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Team (SOT) arrived on scene first and provided assistance with medical treatment and attempted to resuscitate the victim. The victim, later identified as Mark Eugene Copeland, AKA “Country”, 45 of Palmetto, FL, was later pronounced deceased at Calvert Memorial Hospital.

The preliminary investigation revealed Copeland was working for Greg’s Marine as a laborer. His duties this day were to chip away old cement jackets placed over pilings at the gas dock, preparing these pilings for new jackets, approximately 1 mile off the coast of Calvert County. While conducting this task, Copeland was equipped with a neoprene wet suit, fins, a harness, and a diver’s helmet. Copeland slipped underwater and continued to the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay, approximately 40 feet. After several attempts, Copeland’s supervisor finally rescued his unconscious body from the Bay’s floor. CPR was conducted by Copeland’s co-workers as well as medical staff and members of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office.

Forensic Investigator Inscoe was contacted and responded to Calvert Memorial Hospital. Investigator Inscoe’s Investigation revealed there were no signs of trauma to the body. The deceased was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, Maryland for an autopsy.

This is an on-going investigation handled by TFC M. Roy of the Calvert Investigative Team (CIT) and the United States Coast Guard.