The Week’s Best of Police and Fire Reporting

Tragedy on the waterways, a rare hospital bomb threat, a barricade that brought a SWAT team, and vandals on a golf course punctuated crime news last week. Keep your finger on the pulse of all that’s happening in and around your community with Patch’s fire and police beat.

Charges are pending against a Relay resident following a deadly Ocean City incident involving a 23-year-old Arbutus man who was "bow riding" on a pontoon and fell off Aug. 6, spurring a search that ended with recovery of his body more than 12 hours later. Check out the details on Arbutus Patch.

Authorities still don’t know who called in a bomb threat to the Howard County General Hospital, which was on lockdown for almost three hours while police and fire officials searched for suspicious people and packages. No bomb was found, but it raised awareness around the area. Read the full article on Columbia Patch.

Neighbors in a Colesville neighborhood were shaken up by a barricade situation that brought police and SWAT team sharp shooters to a home where a young man was threatening to commit suicide. Find out more on Colesville Patch.

Residents of Howard County will have the chance at the end of the month to tell public officials what they think of the school zone boundaries that will dictate where speed cameras could be placed in their neighborhoods. Add your two cents, on Savage-Guilford Patch.

The Westminster Police Department is offering a cash reward to those with information regarding vandalism that swept the Wakefield Valley Golf Club. See more details about the investigation on Westminster Patch.

A 35-year-old woman with ties to Sykesville has disappeared in Aruba after accepting the invitation of a man she reportedly met online. Robyn Gardner, it turns out, had ties to Sykesville, graduating from South Carroll High School in 1994. Find out more on Eldersburg Patch.

A Howard County judge has sentenced former Laurel police officer Edward Schmitt to four years in prison for secretly taping a 15-year-old girl undressing. Laurel Patch has the story.