DELMARVA - Join WBOC as we take a look back at the most-read news stories of the year on WBOC.com and count down to 2025. We’ll revisit 2024’s headlines in three-month intervals to see what stories our viewers were reading most this past year.
You can read about our other top stories throughout the year here:
October 2024
Apple-Scrapple Fire
A beloved tradition on Delmarva was interrupted by devastation in October when a multiple-vehicle fire erupted at Bridgeville’s Apple-Scrapple Festival. 14 cars were involved in the fire on October 12, all in the area designated for the festival’s parking.lot. Damage to the cars ranged from minor to severe, with an estimated total of $300,000 in damages. Luckily, no one was injured in the fire. Officials said there was no indication of criminal activity.
Zaxby’s on the Eastern Shore
Fried chicken fans were elated to hear of the Eastern Shore’s newest upcoming eatery addition as Georgia-based Zaxby’s announced their plans to debut in Maryland in October. The southeastern chicken franchise said they were eyeing locations in Cambridge, Easton, and the West Ocean City / Berlin area, with the Cambridge location slated to open in late 2025. A future location in Salisbury was also mentioned.
Store layout designs for the new Eastern Shore Zaxbys
“We’ve always wanted to bring something special to the Eastern Shore, and Zaxbys is the perfect fit,” Curtis Snyder, franchise co-owner said. “The quality of the product, combined with the brand’s growth strategy, convinced us this was the right move. Maryland residents, along with travelers from Baltimore and D.C. heading to the shore, are going to love it.”
Kentucky Kidnapping
An alleged kidnapping investigation in Kentucky crossed state lines into Kent County in October when Ashley Brown and Kolene Shahan were arrested near Hartly on October 7. Brown and Shahan, non-custodial family members, took three children from Lexington, KY to Delaware, according to authorities, where they were stopped by Delaware State Police on Arthursville Road. The two suspects were charged with three counts of 1st degree kidnapping each, and the children were reported safe.
PFAS at Perdue
Poultry giant Perdue announced in October the discovery of elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” in the groundwater at their Salisbury AgriBusiness site. Coordinating with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), Perdue offered well water testing at nearby homes and would be shipping out bottled water out of an abundance of caution.
Not long after the announcement, a local law firm filed a civil lawsuit against Perdue on behalf of multiple Wicomico County residents seeking monetary damages and the swift remediation of PFAS contamination. By December, Perdue said it had finished testing at 95% of nearby homes that had requested it and had begun installing water filtration systems. Though MDE labelled Perdue a “Responsible Person” in the contamination investigation, Perdue has maintained the source of the forever chemicals has yet to be determined.
New Name, Same Nuisance
The most popular story of October was by far the official name change of an invasive fish that has become all too common in Delmarva waters. The aquatic pest formerly known as the Northern Snakehead in Maryland had its formal name changed to the Chesapeake Channa on October 1st. Lawmakers and environmentalists hoped changing the name to a more palatable-sounding moniker would encourage more people to eat the fish at restaurants, increasing the demand for harvesting them and combating their rapid spread in Maryland waters.
Mason Little, the owner of Choptank River Crab and Oyster Company, holding the formerly known 'Northern Snakehead', which has been renamed to the 'Chesapeake Channa'.
Native to Asia, the Chesapeake Channa are voracious eaters. Along with invasive blue catfish, the species poses significant ecological risks to Delmarva waterways where they prey on keystone species such as blue crabs and striped bass.
Just days after the official renaming, Maryland Department of Resources biologist Dr. Joseph Love told WBOC about recent findings indicating Channa were breeding at higher rates than expected. Female fish were found carrying eggs of noticeably different sizes, suggesting they were breeding twice per year and producing twice the offspring, underscoring the need to control their population in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
November 2024
SU Assault Investigation
An assault investigation that began in October involving numerous Salisbury University students became the center of attention in November. According to police, investigators were first alerted to a viral social media video in October showing multiple college-aged men assaulting an adult male victim in an off-campus apartment. The ensuing investigation revealed one student allegedly posed as a 16-year-old boy to lure the man to the apartment under the false pretense of a sexual encounter, according to police. Upon arrival to the apartment, the man was allegedly ambushed by a large group of students, all affiliated with an on-campus fraternity. The victim told police he believed he was targeted for being gay, resulting in fifteen students being charged with a hate crime and calls for unity and an end to violence from SU and the local LGTBQ+ community.
The students’ legal representation maintains the incident had nothing to do with the victims’ sexuality.
Many of the SU students began seeing their charges reduced by December. As of the end of 2024, only two of the students still face misdemeanor hate crime charges.
Millsboro Bathroom Recordings
A story out of Millsboro gained significant traction online after police arrested a man on accusations he was using a phone to record and watch victims in a local store’s bathroom. Police said Anthony Mistretta, 59, was seen in the bathroom of a retail outlet using his cell phone to record people for about 5 hours on November 21. Mistretta was charged with invasion of privacy, and police said his statements possibly indicated there could be more victims.
Milford Drawbridge Shutdown
Earlier in November, a combine struck the Mispillion River Drawbridge in Milford, briefly closing the bridge and the road and prompting DelDOT to install an overhead warning system, or clankers. The strike was the latest in a series of crashes in recent years requiring extensive repair work and causing headaches for local businesses that rely on the bridge and its access to their shops.
Deadly Crashes
November saw two fatal crashes that drew shock and grief on Delmarva. On November 3, Maryland State Police say a Subaru was driving east on Route 50 near Cambridge when it drove off the road and struck a utility pole. The car then burst into flames. The driver, Shankar Mondal, 54, and passenger Quail Dasgupta, 37, both of Salisbury, died as a result. A one-year-old child also in the vehicle was flown to Johns Hopkins Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore.
On the morning of November 16, the Ocean Pines Police Department responded to reports of a crash on Ocean Parkway. Investigators say a Parsonsburg man drove off the right side of the road just before 8:45 a.m. and struck 35-year-old Ramon Ramirez Castillo, of Salisbury. Castillo died as a result of his injuries.
Worsening Drought
Months of below-average rainfall on Delmarva finally culminated in November with the Maryland Department of Environment calling on residents to reduce their water usage. A drought warning was issued for the Eastern Shore, and those with shallow wells on the Peninsula were asked to stay vigilant and report any significant changes in water pressure. Rainfall numbers for fall of 2024 threatened to set dryness records on Delmarva. The drought also sparked numerous burn bans throughout Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia to decrease the risk of wildfires.
Seymour lowers well pump
Luckily, weather conditions improved slightly by the end of the month, and burn bans began to be lifted. As of the latest drought monitor report, valid for December 24, much of Delmarva is experiencing at least moderate drought conditions.
December 2024
Crime on Delmarva
Crime stories took numerous top slots for most read in December on Delmarva. Nearly 40 people were arrested in mid-December in a sprawling drug bust that spanned Wicomico, Dorchester, and Baltimore Counties. The drug-trafficking investigation, a coordinated effort between multiple law enforcement agencies, resulted in the seizure of more than 2,500 grams of cocaine, about 30 grams of fentanyl, 14 guns, and 4 vehicles used to transport drugs. Two suspects were charged with acting as the “drug kingpins” of the multi-county operation
In early December, three people were indicted on charges of hiding a missing Salisbury woman’s body in Accomack County. Kadisha Smith, 28, was reported missing on June 6, 2023. Her body was found in Virginia weeks later. On December 2, 2024, Johmon Handy and Amanda Rooks , both of Salisbury, and Ronjai Wharton, of Parksley, were all charged with concealing a dead body and destroying evidence.
Over a year-and-a-half after the fatal shooting of Laurel High School basketball star Corey Mumford, two men were sentenced for the teens tragic death. Mumford was killed on April 14, 2023 at the Wexford Village Apartments. Police said he was not the intended target of the shooting. Towards the end of November, 2024, Jhalir Henry, 27, and Shyheem Latham-Purnell, 21, were sentenced, with Henry receiving a life sentence plus 39 years and 3 months. Latham-Purnell received a total of 20 years behind bars.
A Grim Anniversary
December 2024 marked the 15th anniversary of a murder that shook Delmarva to its core. On December 22, 2009, Thomas Leggs Jr. abducted, raped, and murdered 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell before setting her body on fire. 15 years later, WBOC spoke with Foxwell’s mother Jennifer and Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis about that tragic day, as well as finding Sarah’s body on Christmas after three days of searching.
The pain of Sarah’s loss has not lessened for Jennifer.
"It was an awful feeling. I'll never forget when Mike came in the room to tell me that she was gone. I just lost it..... I still.... can feel that emotion even now," she said.
Sheriff Mike Lewis still remembers the horrific murder as possibly the worst case Wicomico County detectives have ever handled, and something he will never forget.
Sarah Foxwell would have been 26 this year.
Big Lots Loss
The news of a well-known retail chain closing gained significant traction right before Christmas with Big Lots announcing plans to close all their remaining stores. On December 19, Big Lots said a deal hoped to keep stores open was not expected to proceed and was preparing a “going out of business sale” at their remaining stores. With multiple locations on Delmarva, including Dover, Milford, Seaford, Chester, Easton, and Fruitland, neighbors who rely on the chain for daily shopping expressed their disappointment.
Just before the end of the year, Big Lots then announced it had reached a deal with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to keep hundreds of stores open. It is currently unclear whether any of those stores will be here on Delmarva.
Chincoteague Pony Puzzle
December also saw Delmarva’s attention turn to a livestock auction in Pennsylvania after the Lebanon Valley Livestock Market listed a Chincoteague Pony available for purchase. Neighbors on Chincoteague were skeptical, doubting the authenticity of the breed. Hunter Leonard of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company and of Saltwater Cowboy fame, said the pony appeared too small and the color of the pony differed from any found on the island. Though the Lebanon Valley Livestock Market did not initially answer WBOC’s requests for comment, they did double down on their claim on social media, saying the pony had previously been sold as a Chincoteague Pony but they had no registration.
Though possibly a descendent of one of Delmarva’s beloved Chincoteague Ponies, Leonard told WBOC he’s confident it did not come from the island or a reputable Chincoteague Pony breeder.
US Wind Blowback
The year would not be complete without offshore wind making it into Delmarva’s most-read headlines. Controversy in 2024 swirled around alternative energy company US Wind’s efforts to construct wind turbines off the coast of Worcester County, with Sussex County coastal communities joining the debate as well in light of a proposed substation to bring the energy ashore in Delaware.
The proposed offshore wind project, which would put up to 114 wind turbines off the coast, has faced intense backlash from locals, who say it will have major negative impacts on the coastal economies and the environment. Ocean City officials took legal action after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved the project, with Fenwick Island vowing to join the legal battle as well. 2024 also saw a new development with US Wind announcing plans to reconstruct a pier in West Ocean City for use as a new facility for the company.
US Wind has maintained the project would produce up to 2 gigawatts of offshore wind power and provide energy to more than 600,000 homes in the region.
After gaining final federal approval, as well as clearances from both the Maryland Board of Public Works and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for other aspects of the project, December saw US Wind facing new challenges from local communities. On December 17, Worcester County Commissioners announced their plans to use eminent domain to block US Wind’s acquisition of the West Ocean City pier. That same day, the Sussex County Council voted against the proposed electric substation near Millsboro that would allow wind power cables to come ashore. US Wind told WBOC they are prepared to explore all of their legal options in response to both decisions.
Some neighbors and local lawmakers are also hoping for President-elect Donald Trump to step in and end the project in the new year. Either way, we can expect to see many more developments in the ongoing war of words and legal challenges surrounding US Wind in 2025.
Looking Forward to 2025: OC’s Boardwalk Rock
December’s top story online saw neighbors looking forward with the announcement of a brand new music festival slated to land in Ocean City in the new year. On December 11, Boardwalk Rock, scheduled for May 2025, announced their very first lineup. Joining an ever-growing series of music festivals and events in Ocean City, Boardwalk Rock is hoped to bring even more economic benefits to the Resort Town with acts such as Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Alice Cooper, and Nickelback. The brand new concert series has local officials and businesses already excited for the spring and what 2025 has in store.
