‘There are no words:’ Body of missing Havre de Grace teen found in Susquehanna River

Divers pulled 18-year-old Mark Everett Coates III from the Susquehanna River Thursday afternoon, ending an eight-day search for the Havre de Grace teenager whose empty boat was found capsized near Garrett Island earlier this month.

What happened: Coates was last seen the evening of November 4, operating a 10-foot aluminum jon boat near the Hatem Memorial Bridge on U.S. 40. The next morning, November 5, searchers found his boat unmanned and overturned near Garrett Island. His body was recovered from the same area Thursday, November 12.

How he was found: Around noon Thursday, volunteers with a Pennsylvania search and rescue team used an underwater drone to locate something of interest in the water offshore of Garrett Island. Dive teams from Maryland Natural Resources Police, Maryland State Police, and Baltimore County Police Department responded and recovered the body. It was positively identified as Coates.

The search: The effort covered the stretch of river between the Tydings Memorial Bridge on I-95 and the Hatem Memorial Bridge on U.S. 40. Over 48 hours, the United Cajun Navy — a volunteer search and rescue organization — brought 84 volunteers and 34 boats to the water.

In their words: “There are no words that can take away the pain of losing a child. This is not the outcome any of us prayed for, but we hope bringing Markie home gives his family some measure of peace in the difficult days ahead,” the United Cajun Navy said. The group added: “Our work has always been about people and families who need someone to show up. We came to Maryland for Markie. We leave carrying his memory with us.”

Coates was known to family and friends as “Markie.” He was 18 years old.