RESCUE OR RECOVERY IN PROGRESS
“Blue paddle has been found down the river”
The Monocacy River is at 14 Ft and rising ( normal is 2-3 Ft)
Frederick County (MD) Fire & Rescue
Missing Kayaker – Monocacy River at Devilbiss Bridge Rd Area
#FCDFRS is currently on the scene at Devilbiss Bridge Road searching for 1 missing male kayaker with assistance from the Department of Natural Resources, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue, and Frederick County Sheriff's Office, MD - Integrity Driven • Community Built. Crews are also set up on bridge overpasses along Biggs Ford, Devilbiss Bridge, and Links Bridge along the Monocacy River (please use caution in these areas)
Devilbiss Bridge Road is currently closed to traffic. Motorists are urged to use alternate routes and avoid the area to allow emergency personnel to operate safely.
Search for missing kayaker continued on second day
By Cameron Adams & Ceoli Jacoby, Frededrick News Post
May 15, 2025
First responders on Thursday continued looking for a missing kayaker who entered the Monocacy River between Devilbiss Bridge Road and Woodsboro Creagerstown Road, in Frederick County on Wednesday. It was still considered an active search and rescue effort, according to Hunter Dortenzo, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
A 34-year-old man, wearing a green long-sleeved shirt, gray shorts, and a black hat with a white brim, entered the water at Links Bridge between 11 a.m. and noon, according to Sarah Campbell, a spokesperson for the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services.
A search for the man started shortly after 12 noon on Wednesday when he did not show up to a point that people on land expected to find him, Campbell said. The people connected to the kayaker then reported him missing. That triggered a search effort conducted by several agencies, including the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services and Maryland Natural Resources Police, according to Dortenzo.
He said the search resumed Thursday at 7 a.m. with two boats, three drones and several officers searching on foot. On Wednesday, the kayak was spotted near Devilbiss Bridge, with no one inside, at around 1 p.m., and was pulled from the water between Biggs Ford Road and Md. 26.
Dortenzo said the search “significantly” expanded downriver on Thursday, but did not know by exactly how much. Dortenzo could not be reached for an update on Thursday evening.
THURMONT, Md. (WUSA) - The body of a missing kayaker was recovered from a Maryland river a week after he disappeared during severe weather.
Sean Chilson, 34, was declared missing May 14 after his empty kayak and gear were seen floating downstream in the Monocacy River in Frederick County. He had gone kayaking as the river began to rise after heavy rain that produced flooding through much of western Maryland.
Rescuers searched the river for six days before Sean Chilson’s body was found about 6 p.m. Tuesday near the Biggs Ford Bridge, according to Maryland Natural Resources Police.
