Texas woman found dead and buried in the sand at Ocean City, Md. beach
Earlier this week, police in Ocean City, Maryland, found themselves investigating an eerie early morning scene – that of a woman found dead and buried in the sand on the beach around 2nd Street. Police were called to the scene around 6:30 a.m. on Monday, July 31. A medical examiner’s report released on August 2 ruled the death accidental, according to the Ocean City Police Department.
The female victim has been identified as 30-year-old Ashley O’Connor of Plano, Texas. According to the statement released by police, O’Connor died of asphyxia due to suffocation. The preliminary investigation revealed that she walked onto the beach alone at approximately 2 a.m. and was later discovered in a hole covered by sand. It remains to be determined at this time if O’Connor fell into the hole or climbed in on her own accord.
That portion of the beach was cordoned off and closed to beach-goers as police investigated the scene and worked to recover O’Connor’s remains from the sand with assistance from Maryland State Police crime scene technicians. The body was removed at approximately 4:15 p.m. and the beach was open to the public by approximately 5 p.m.
Delmarvanow reported that when O’Connor’s body was initially discovered, she was deep in a hole dug into the beach. Her body was mostly covered by sand with only a portion of one of her arms extending out toward the surface. The Ocean City Beach Patrol authorities are theorizing that the hole could have been dug and just left behind by one of the beach-goers. O’Connor could have accidentally stepped into the deep hole, with the sand then somehow collapsing around and on top of her – basically drowning her in sand. Lindsay Richard with the Ocean City Police Department was quoted by delmarvanow as saying, ““Investigators are still trying to determine what caused that hole to fall in, which is something we may never know, but we’re still investigating it.”
A gofundme page has been established for O’Connor with all proceeds to go to O’Connor’s wife, Janet. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Ocean City Police Department Major Crimes Unit at 410-723-6604.
Written by: Ace News Today Staff
