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Body recovered in Elizabeth River after man falls overboard

Posted at 10:15 PM, Aug 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-10 10:28:00-04

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Crews have recovered the body of a man who fell overboard into the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth Thursday night, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission has identified the man as Delma Batson, 73, of Suffolk.

The call came in at 9:27 p.m.

A spokesperson with the Coast Guard said a black male in his mid-50s fell off a friend's boat as they were coming into the marina near the Union Bank and Trust Pavilion.

The person driving the boat saw the man go into the water and then saw the man swimming. The driver of the boat turned away for a moment before looking back and saw that the victim did not resurface.

Coast Guard crews and a Norfolk fire boat searched for the victim until about 1:20 a.m. when the Portsmouth Police Department's dive team recovered the man's body very close to where he went overboard.

This is still a developing situation.