Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Investigating Fatal Bayville Canoe Accident

Investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office are now working on the fatal canoe accident in Barnegat Bay last month that took the life of 18-year-old Ryan Worrall.

"It's a continuing investigation," Chief of Detectives Michael Mohel said. "The investigation is still ongoing."

But just what happened during the early morning hours of June 10 will not be revealed, at least until early September, Mohel said.

That's when 17-year-old Trevor Murphy turns 18. Murphy, Bayville, is already facing several charges in connection with the  that left his friend dead.

"I can't comment because he's (Murphy) a juvenile," Mohel said. "At the time of the accident, he was a juvenile."

New Jersey State Police recently charged Murphy with reckless operation of a vessel and failure to report a fatal boat accident, Sgt. Julian Castellanos has said.

Murphy and Worrall took a canoe out into Barnegat Bay in the early morning hours of June 10, after attending a post-high school graduation party. The two men — who had both graduated from only two days before — were dropped off by friends near Worrall's Balsalm Drive home in Bayville.

At some point, the canoe overturned in the darkness and both men went into the water. Murphy was able to swim back to shore. Worrall drowned.

The first notification the State Police Marine Services Division received came late in the afternoon of June 10, when an off-duty State Police officer discovered Worrall's body floating in the bay off Amherst Beach.

Ryan Worrall died of accidental drowning, according to an autopsy performed by the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office the day after the accident.

State Police have not released any details of the accident. Sgt. Julian Castellanos has said Murphy could face additional criminal charges.

The two boating charges were slated to be heard in Berkeley Township Municipal Court. But the matter has since been transferred to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, Municipal Court Clerk Aileen Alonzo said today.