Story Category: Regional News »

On the morning of Oct. 13, Adam Palmer Burch, 18 of Avenue, was reported as a missing persons to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office.

On Thursday, Oct. 15, shortly after 1 p.m., a Maryland State Highway Administration road crew, working in the area of White's Neck Road south of Beitzell Road in Avenue, discovered a wrecked 1997 black Chevrolet S-10 pick-up truck up in the woods.  A male subject was deceased at the crash scene.  The road crew called and reported their discovery to the Sheriff's Office at which time deputies responded to the scene.  Deputies confirmed the identity of the deceased as Adam Burch. 

St. Mary’s County Sheriff's Office Collision Reconstruction Team, along with detectives from the St. Mary’s County Bureau of Criminal Investigation, responded to the scene.  The deceased was transported to the Maryland State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. 

The investigation is continuing. 

The last time anyone saw 18-year-old Adam Burch was 12:30 a.m. in Tuesday, Oct. 13 after leaving two disturbing notes. One to his parents and one to his girlfriend, both of which left the impression that Burch may do harm to himself.

In a conversation with Burch’s mother, Brenda Burch, her son was depressed, out of work except for a weekend shift or two at the Shell station in Clements, short of graduating in 2008 by two, half credits and felt he just couldn’t take it any more. According to his sister, Jennifer Burch, her brother was also upset at a recent break-up with his girlfriend.

Brenda Burch reported in a phone interview that the last communication with her son was a cell phone call at 4:40 a.m. early Tuesday morning. “Since then we send text messages and leave voice mails, but we have not heard from him.”

A call to Capt. Black of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s office confirmed that Burch is considered a missing person and that there is a definite and on-going investigation. The family is worried that Burch might do harm to himself and is asking that anyone that knows him to help authorities locate the young man.

Anyone seeing Adam Burch or his Black Chevrolet S-10 should contact his mother at (301) 769-3948 of the Sheriff’s Office at (301) 475-4200 ext. 1900