Maryland
Gruesome discovery in torched car sparks a mystery in quaint waterfront Maryland town
Human remains found in the shell of a scorched car have led to a chilling mystery in a quaint waterfront Maryland town, according to police.
The disturbing discovery was made Saturday night, police said, after a motorist called 911 to report a car on fire outside the Tropic Bay Aquatic Garden Center in Davidsonville, Md., a tony community about 40 minutes outside the nation’s capital.
When firefighters arrived, they found a car engulfed in flames. Once they extinguished the blaze, they discovered a scorched human body in the passenger side of the car, police said.
Cops are treating the car fire as a suspicious death investigation. What was left of the body was taken to the medical examiner for an autopsy and identification.
“That certainly changed our investigation from what appeared to be an initial vehicle fire to a suspicious death investigation,” Anne Arundel County police spokesperson Justin Mulcahy told WJZ News. “That’s where we’re at right now.”
The gruesome discovery shocked residents of the small and idyllic waterfront town, where the median sales price of a home is almost $1 million, and the average income is $223,135.
“My wife called and asked me if I heard what happened. I was just shocked,” local Pete Best told WJZ. “It doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that would happen in a small town.”
Best told the outlet that he was playing a gig next door to Tropic Bay at the time of the discovery.
“These kinds of things happen on TV, and then you go, ‘Wow, I can’t believe it’s right around the corner,’” Best said. “It kind of puts you on your heels a little bit for sure.”
The Anne Arundel County Fire and Explosives Investigations Unit is investigating the cause of the fire as detectives work to identify the victim – and determine how they ended up in the torched car, according to reports.
Regular customers of Tropic Bay, which specializes in koi fish and water features, were surprised to find it closed the following morning and surrounded with yellow police tape, according to WBAL.
The parking lot, with a sign that reads “America’s Premiere Aquatic Garden Center,” was still littered with toasted car parts from what WBAL called a recent model Ford.
Customers told the station that the owner never closed on the weekend since that was his busiest time. They worried about the animals inside the store and whether they were getting fed and cared for.
Mulcahy told WJZ that he is counting on witnesses or surveillance video to help solve the mystery.
“We’re going to talk to anybody who may have frequented that business,” Mulcahy said. “Certainly, any surveillance footage would be part of the investigation as well, or anything we can gather to assist our case right now.”
Maryland
Dog who called Maryland shelter home for 7 years finally adopted: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house”
The SPCA of Anne Arundel County announced that their longest running shelter resident has been adopted. Kylo Jace found his forever home after living at the SPCA of Anne Arundel County for 7 years.
The SPCA said on their Facebook page thar Kylo is a dog who “takes many meetings with someone in order to fully trust them and feel comfortable enough to show his true silly, wonderful personality.”
Over the years, he had specific volunteers and staff who had earned his trust and would take turns walking and caring for him day after day, the shelter said.
Over the course of the past 7 months, the woman who adopted Kylo came to visit him twice a week and slowly, but surely, worked her way into his trusted inner circle.
The team at SPCA even worked to ensure Kylo was comfortable getting into his new owner’s car, doing home visits before the big day. On Sunday, he officially left the building that he has spent the past few years in for the final time.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house and we truly are on Cloud 9 knowing he gets to spend the rest of his life loved for exactly who he is!” shelter staff said on social media.
Kylo’s adoption fee was fully paid for in memory of Jim Ehrig, a fan favorite of Kylo’s who passed away.
The SPCA hopes Kylo’s story will encourage more people to take a chance on a shelter dog.
Watch Tide to Table of Ocean City’s crew in action in Instagram reel
Instagram reel offers inside look at Tide to Table crew in action. Provided bby Jason Schwinabart, Vision Jet Media.
Vision Jet Media
The results are in for Delmarva Now’s reader poll of the best local ice cream shop on Maryland’s Lower Shore.
The 10 ice cream shops featured in the poll from the Ocean City, Salisbury and Berlin areas are often sought out by beachgoers with a sweet tooth during the hot summer months.
Get to know the winner and runner-up below.
Island Creamery voted best ice cream shop on Lower Shore
Island Creamery finished in first place with 47 votes, or 62.67% of the total, in Delmarva Now’s reader poll.
The creamery, named “Best Ice Cream Place in America” on July 7, 2023, for its use of fresh, quality ingredients and creativity, is best known for unique flavors such as Wallops Rocket Fuel and Rum Raisin.
It operates three locations across the Delmarva Peninsula: 120 N. Main St. in Berlin, 306 Dogwood Drive in Salisbury and 6243 Maddox Blvd. in Chincoteague, Virginia.
Dumser’s Dairyland secures second place in ice cream poll
Dumser’s Dairyland secured second place in Delmarva Now’s reader poll with 16 votes, or 21.33% of the total.
The family-owned business first opened in 1939 and offers a wide variety of fresh ice cream flavors, including coconut chocolate chip, butter pecan and mint Oreo.
Dumser’s Dairyland operates seven locations in Ocean City, including on the Boardwalk, in West Ocean City and along Coastal Highway. Some locations capture the look of a 1950s diner.
Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.
Maryland lawmakers serving in the U.S. Congress expressed their condolences on Sunday after the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Graham, a Republican, died on Saturday following a “brief and sudden illness,” according to his office. He was 71 years old.
Republican Congressman Andy Harris, who represents Maryland in the House of Representatives, called Stewart a “true leader” and said his “selfless service to his country both in uniform and in Congress is much appreciated.”
“My deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, dedicated staff, and the people of South Carolina during this difficult time,” Harris said. “Working with him on budget issues made it clear to me that he was a true leader in the fight to restore fiscal responsibility, and he will be sorely missed.”
Graham died on Saturday evening, shortly after he returned from a trip to Ukraine. He was scheduled to appear on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, followed by four terms in the U.S. Senate. Before his political career, Graham served in the United States Air Force.
Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who served with Graham in Congress for more than two decades, said that even though the two disagreed on many issues, they had always had “an open line of communication and honest conversation.”
“Whenever possible, we worked together to find common ground, including our joint efforts to support our Syrian Kurdish partners and the SDF, who have been our main allies in the fight against ISIS,” Van Hollen stated. “My heart goes out to Lindsey’s loved ones during this difficult time.”
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