Famous Maryland Publisher and Assistant Secretary General to NATO Feared Drowned

Coast Guard and Maryland Natural Resources Police are searching for Phillip Merrill, 73, former Assistant Secretary General to NATO in Brussels, after he was reported overdue at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday.

The search for Merrill began Saturday evening after he was reported overdue from a day trip on Chesapeake Bay. Search crews located Merrill’s sailboat off Breezy Point late last night with the engine running and his wallet and other identification on board.  Merrill’s sailboat was towed to Matapeake.  It is unknown if he was wearing a personal flotation device at the time he was on the boat.

A Coast Guard aircrew continued searching Sunday night with an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. equipped with night vision goggles.  MNRP searchers were expected to look until midnight and resume their search at first light Monday morning.

Search and rescue crews from the Coast Guard, MNRP and the Civil Air Patrol have searched more than 117 square nautical miles in an effort to locate Merrill.