Body discovered at Lake Linganore

Rescue workers spent several hours Wednesday trying to recover a body trapped under a dam at Lake Linganore before stopping at 8 p.m.

Frederick County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Cpl. Jennifer Bailey said the search will resume this morning.

Two men fishing spotted the body floating in the water near Eaglehead Drive at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, Bailey said.

Rocks and debris made the recovery difficult, Bailey said. The cold water was also a factor.

The Frederick County Advanced Technical Rescue Team worked with swift water rescue teams from around the county to clear debris in an effort to free the body.

At one point, personnel in a boat near the base of the dam offered advice to those working on top of it.

Several workers stood on top of the dam and used a winch truck, cables and ropes to loosen debris from around the body.

As the sun set and the sky turned crimson, neighbors who had gathered to watch the recovery recalled how easy it is to jump off the dam and into the water on a warm summer day.

"I used to jump off of it when I was a kid," Eaglehead resident Ginger Russ said. "It's a long drop."

The dam was once used for recreation, but that is no longer allowed, she said.

"I just fished down there three days ago," Russ said.

She saw nothing that looked like a body.

Bailey said police are looking into missing persons reports in Frederick County and surrounding jurisdictions.

The county's Division of Fire and Rescue Services, as well as criminal and crime scene investigative units, are at the scene, she said.

After the body is freed, it will be taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy, police said.

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