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MCSO: Boater’s death likely accidental

Shacklefords man’s body discovered in Jackson Creek

by Tom Chillemi – 

The body of Devin Massey, of Shacklefords in King and Queen County, was found floating in Jackson Creek in Deltaville on Friday, Oct. 2, reported Sgt. Eric Van Fossen of the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office.

Sgt. Van Fossen said the investigation, which is ongoing, indicates Massey, 30, was last heard from late in the evening on Oct. 1 when he made a cell phone call from his boat. 

Massey’s boat was a converted older model pleasure boat that he had been using attempting to salvage a sailboat on the Mathews County side of the Piankatank River.

It appears Massey became separated from his boat near the entrance to Jackson Creek in Deltaville, and the boat blew several miles across the Piankatank River and was found beating against a pier in Hallieford in Mathews County. 

Massey was not wearing a life jacket.

The death appears to be accidental, said Sgt. Van Fossen, who added he is awaiting the results of an autopsy by the state medical examiner.