A Son and Brother Lost, Still No Answers
The drowning death of 18-year-old Ryan Worrall remains a mystery
It's been nearly four months since Ryan Worrall drowned in the darkness in the waters of Barnegat Bay. It was a bay he knew well, having grown up along the tidal marshes in Bayville.
And just what happened on the night of June 10 still isn't known and may never be known. There were only two people in that canoe and only one is still here to tell his story. That person is Trevor Murphy.
Murphy was in municipal court Wednesday. He pleaded not guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal boat accident and reckless operation of a boating vessel. Ryan's parents, Lynn MacIntosh and Patrick Worrall, were at the arraignment.
Berkeley Patch has tried, but has been unable to obtain all of the details of what happened that late spring night on the bay. The New Jersey State Police and later the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office have released some information, but not the accident scenario and the immediate aftermath.
And unfortunately, many of the responses to the questions listed below have been "No comment." The accident remains as much a mystery as it was back in June.
Trevor Murphy and Ryan Worrall attended a post-graduation party that night, somewhere in the Bayville area. A friend dropped them off in the early morning hours of June 10, near Worrall's Balsam Drive home.
Questions - Where was the party held? Who served the attendees liquor?
The young men - who had both graduated from Central Regional High School just two days before - decided to go for a canoe ride in Barnegat Bay after they returned to Bayville.
Questions- Whose canoe was it? What happened to the canoe after the accident? Was it returned or left to float in the bay?
At some point during the canoe ride, the boat overturned and the two men went into the water. Murphy managed to swim to shore. Ryan drowned.
Questions- How long were they on the canoe? How far out where they? How did it overturn?
Questions- What did Murphy do after he made it to shore? Did he make any attempt to save his friend?
Apparently Murphy never dialed 911 or let anyone know his friend was in trouble. Ryan's body was found floating in the water off Amherst Beach by an off-duty New Jersey State Trooper on a Jet-Ski late in the afternoon of June 10. The officer promptly notified authorities.
Question - Why didn't Murphy notify authorities as soon as he could? What did he do and where did he go that day?
An autopsy the following day determined that Ryan died of accidental drowning. Toxicological tests later revealed he had blood alcohol level of .076, under the state's legal limit of .08.
Hundreds of relatives and friends turned out for Ryan's two wakes held at Mastapeter Funeral Home early the following week. Ryan, now forever 18, was loved by many.
Rumors were rampant in the weeks after the accident. There's still a lot more to this story than has been released. And those who loved him deserve more answers than they have received.
john appleby jr
10:18 pm on Saturday, October 1, 2011
MAYBE it was an ACCIDENT and everybody was drinking. The key word here is friend, do all the details really matter, lots of people cant remember the night before. its happened to almost everyone I know at some time in there teenage/college life. ever hear of it? I'm not defending anyone its reality. Did you, the writer, grow up in a cave? it was a tragic accident, gotta blame someone and they have to pay. I'm relieved and thank god my son made it over the hump. I'm very thankful. he put me thru hell. a little story, my dad, in the 1940's was out shooting with his 2 friends, the gun went off by accident, the safety was off and his friend was shot in the neck. He died almost instantly. It was tragic, it was an accident, my dad and his friend have lived with it there whole lives. he remembers it like it was yesterday, he's 80 yr's old, Gun safety in our house was drilled into us. I can't imagine how the guy feels that actually fired the gun. no one was arrested it was an accident, they were all friends.
john
6:23 am on Sunday, October 2, 2011
imo, teenage drinking is out of control . sneak a beer here and there, but it s way beyond that, and the teenagers do not understand the consequences of excess drinking.
Mac
2:08 pm on Sunday, October 2, 2011
To John & John: Did your dad and his friend wait a day to get help? If this guy could swim to shore, he was capable of calling someone for help. It's called accepting responsibility for your actions. Being drunk is not an acceptable excuse, just an irresponsible reason, and an alcohol level of .08 is hardly a level that immobilizes one from calling for help. And teenagers do understand the consequences of excess drinking if they are properly educated at home. Again, it's accepting responsibility for your actions and for those whose values you're nurturing. There are a lot of unanswered questions here that need to be addressed. While I realize there's a time and a place for everything, the public should keep an eye of the temperature and not allow this case to be shoved to the back burner.
WhyOhWhy
7:53 am on Monday, October 3, 2011
I concur with Mac....very well said.
John jr... IMHO the only mistake that Trevor did that night was choosing not to go get help. If everything was so 'innocent' that night and they weren't doing anything wrong, then why NOT go get help? Even if it was too late for Ryan, go get help, to get him out of the water. Don't wait for someone to find him. Whatever happened out in that water wasn't right and Trevor paniced and ran. Now he has to accept responsibility for his actions. I think the only thing he is guilty of is leaving the scene and NOT being the friend Ryan thought he was. They both I'm sure operated that vessel carelessly being that both were in the boat together.
Isn't it human nature to want to know more when you are giving half a story? Don't you think the parents deserve closure? I know as a parent I would DEMAND to know.
M'Linda Kula
9:24 pm on Sunday, October 2, 2011
I have faith in the state police getting to the truth as to what was the chain of events that ended in the death of a beloved child.. I have NO faith in the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. IE: Stafford man 25, had 7 DWI s and has now killed a man. His father has political pull. Justice has a price for those who CAN pay!
y o y in this world
11:05 am on Monday, October 3, 2011
to john a. please lts be real. if u r on a boat with ur friend or even a car acciendent will u leave them to die. he made it to shore n never went to call for help. HE IS SOOOOOOOOO WRONG. yes he was drinking but if this is all that he was doing then get help. even if drugs were involved he could have been helped. there is so much drinking n drugs going on in these towns it is crazy. at this point murphy is totally at fault. he needs to be places in jail n learn from his error. as for ryan well we all no he has paid for what he did that nite. so face ur demons n move on.
Bayville Resident
12:01 am on Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Honestly, who is anyone to throw the blame at Trevor? Okay, so he didn't call for help. But no one knows what happened after he got back to shore. Ryan wasn't the only one who was intoxicated. Trevor might not have been capable of making it somewhere he could have gotten help. Also, yes, drugs are a huge problem here, but there was no sign of any on the toxicology report. Obviously everyone is disheartened by the loss of Ryan, but don't throw the blame at Trevor just because he was there. If you knew the two of them, you'd know that there is not a reason in the world anyone would want to intentionally hurt Ryan and even more so, Trevor would never be one the one to do it. You all need to realize that Trevor is already forced to live with the loss of his good friend for the rest of his life. He will never forget that. There's also a very good chance he has already told Ryan's family what really happened that night. I understand your yearn to know what happened but there's a point at which you need to realize that the details of what happened may be details his family would rather not have everyone knowing and discussing. We all miss Ryan and not knowing bothers us all, but don't throw this entire situation on one boys shoulders who will be living with such tragic regrets for the rest of his life. Don't you think he has "learned his lesson" enough already? I know your only human and all but try to think of others too sometimes.
WhyOhWhy
7:49 am on Tuesday, October 4, 2011
I understand what you are saying Bayville Resident, and we are only commenting on what we read here on Patch. Maybe Patch should know what the real story/facts is before publishing it so that we as readers don't get on our high horses and make all these comments. On the other hand maybe thats just what Patch wants out of us.
Both families have a lot, left to live with. God be with them both