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<figure id="attachment_1131" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1131" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Dove-Captain-or-helmsman.jpg"><strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-1131" title="Dove Captain or helmsman" src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Dove-Captain-or-helmsman-300x220.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="220" /></strong></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1131" class="wp-caption-text">The captain of the Maryland Dove scans the horizon for the missing island.</figcaption></figure>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Potomac Flotilla Searches for Island</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">SPECIAL &#8212; The mysterious disappearance of St. George Island last week has left islanders communicating by email over satellite connections and officials scrambling to send enough vessels out in the Potomac River to perform a grid search for the island.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">After last month’s breakaway from the mainland, the island vanished on Thanksgiving Day. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">The U. S. Coast Guard at St. Inigoes issued a press release proclaiming that the island isn’t missing, it is simply in a fog which keeps it hidden, but reassured local residents that the Coast Guard knows the location of the island and that all those on it are safe.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">St. Mary’s Commissioner President Jack Russell once again said he would convene a meeting of the County Commissioners on the island but admitted that he hasn’t been to his home on the island since election night when he won a narrow victory over a local publishing typhoon. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">“We intend on keeping St. George Island as part of the county and will make sure that all votes were counted on election day in the official canvassing,” said Russell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reports from Leonardtown speculated that the votes of those who live on the island could be challenged should it be learned that the island was no longer a part of St. Mary’s County. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">The Maryland Dove and the Captain Sam Bailey joined the search for the island over the weekend along with several dozen other boats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Civil Air Patrol along with many private pilots pitched in with an air search as the island seekers gathered steam. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">More on this important story will be provided to readers of THE CHESAPEAKE as soon as possible. <a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Dove-and-Bailey-not-colliding.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1134" title="Dove and Bailey not colliding" src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Dove-and-Bailey-not-colliding-300x257.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="257" /></a></span></p>
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<p><strong>The Maryland Dove and the Captain Sam Bailey joined the search for the island over the weekend along with several dozen other boats.</strong></p>