On the night of June 26, 32-year old Lauren Conner was boating with her boyfriend on the Sassafras River, when the boat hit a wave and she was thrown overboard. She was unharmed but was not wearing a life jacket. Conner expected the boat to pick her right back up,  but as nightfall began to descend, it became harder and harder for her companions to locate her. The boat was no more than 40 yards away, but even as Conner screamed into the wind, she could not be found. Conner's boyfriend immediately called 911 and continued to search the waters but to no avail. By nightfall a dozen boats and a helicopter had joined the search but still could not locate Conner. At that point Conner began to swim toward a small strip of land she could see far off in the distance. Eventually she reached Spesutie Island, part of Aberdeen Proving Ground's weapon testing facility, in the northern Bay. She spent a cold night on the beach, alone and scared, but she was determined to survive and to get home to her boyfriend and her children. The next morning Conner spotted a truck driving on the island and she was rescued.

Spesutie Island Road is marked by the red icon, the island is off to the right.

Lauren Conner thankfully survived that harrowing night but her story is a good reminder of what can go wrong, even on the nicest of days.