Man Dies on Solo Fishing Trip

A 52-year-old Wheaton man died while fishing alone in his johnboat on a lake in Montgomery County yesterday, officials said.

Walter F. Klabacha Jr., 52, left his home early yesterday on a fishing trip on Clopper Lake, in Seneca Creek State Park near Germantown, said Sgt. Ken Turner of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police.

A park visitor called police to report an empty johnboat with its motor running, going in circles, Turner said.

Less than 15 minutes later, someone else found a body floating in the water. It was identified as Klabacha's, Turner said. No cause of death has been determined.

-- Petula Dvorak