WASHINGTON — A double amputee and Army veteran drowned while paddleboarding in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis on Wednesday.
Maryland Natural Resources Police confirmed that Cody Iorns, 25, of D.C., died Wednesday evening off Tolly Point.
He and three others had gone out on the water around 6 p.m.
During the excursion, his companions noticed he’d fallen and was face down in the water.
They inflated his lifejacket and pulled him onto his board, then performed CPR while pulling him to shore.
He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Paddleboaring group Capital SUP announced Iorns’ passing on their Facebook page with “incredible shock and deep sadness.”
“We are still processing how it happened. Please pray for Cody’s family. We are at a loss for words. He was our brother. He was an inspiration to everyone on and off the water,” they wrote.
A profile by National Geographic last year said Iorns was a competitive paddleboarder and former Army medic who had lost both of his arms in a motorcycle accident.
He used prosthetic limbs to paddleboard.
Natural Resources Police spokesperson Candy Thomson said the paddleboarders faced “challenging” conditions with the wind on the water.
She said Iorns was well known in the local paddle boarding community in Annapolis.
An autopsy is being conducted.
WTOP’s Will Vitka contributed to this report.
