Search continues for missing man in Kent Island boat accident
STEVENSVILLE, Md. (WJLA) - The family of a Silver Spring man missing since a boating accident desperately wants to know what happened to him.
32-year-old Alex Sotelo hasn't been seen since his boat overturned in the Chesapeake Bay Sunday, June 28.
Brother Bryan Sotelo told ABC7 he and Alex, two cousins, and their uncle went fishing on the uncle's boat near Kent Island just a little north of the Bay Bridge.
Bryan said the day had been nice, but then the wind and waves began picking up, and the boat started to take on water.
"I saw the whole corner of the right side of the boat just sinking," he said. "Really fast it just started turning over. And then my brother got really scared and he was like, 'I can't swim, I can't swim!'"
Bryan said he and his brother were able to grab on to the overturned boat. Bryan said he decided to swim for shore to try to get help. He said Alex did not know how to swim.
Before Bryan made it to shore, police arrived and were able to rescue everyone -- except Alex, who had apparently gone under the water.
"Finally, when they picked me up, I asked them about my brother," Bryan said. "And they told me they didn't find him."
Tuesday night a large group of extended family came to Alex Sotelo's home in Silver Spring to support his family.
The Sotelo's are not only dealing with the apparent loss of Alex, but of his mother Adriana, who died of cancer less than a month ago. Javier Sotelo -- her husband and Alex's father -- said he was in his native Mexico burying his wife when he got the news about the boating accident.
"I couldn't believe it," Javier told ABC7 after flying home. "I couldn't cry because I said, 'this is impossible.'"
A spokesperson for the Maryland Natural Resources Police (MNRP) said they've been searching for Alex Sotelo every day since he disappeared in the water Sunday, June 28. She said they are not going to give up and they are hoping to bring closure for the Sotelo family.
Family members said Alex Sotelo was a former Springbrook High School student with an incredible talent for singing. They said he had been the family's rock as they all grieved the loss of his mother.
Bryan said he and the other family members on the boat were not wearing life jackets, and he hopes others don't make the same mistake.
"We got careless," he said. "You think because you have the vest next to you that you're going to have time to grab it. But when it happened it was so quick."
Bryan said the family is asking for prayer. They are also hoping someone near where the boat overturned will be willing to let them use a boat to help police in their search.
