A Mathews County man died of an apparent drowning Sunday afternoon while fishing near Stingray Point Light off the Deltaville coastline.Virginia Marine Resources Commission officers were dispatched to the incident shortly before 4 p.m., a release stated, after a distressed boater made an emergency call after the boat’s captain fell overboard.
VMRC police officers arrived on the scene and encountered a 17-foot Key West boat with one occupant aboard. That person directed the rescue team’s attention to fishing lines in the water, where a man, later identified as the vessel’s owner, Steven Drew Higginbotham, was observed face down and entangled in the line. The boater told the VMRC rescuers that she had been operating the boat while Higginbotham worked with the fishing lines, trolling for Spanish mackerel. After Higginbotham signaled a bite, the boater looked back to find him missing from the vessel and in the water. She attempted to assist, including throwing a life jacket and using fishi...