Maurice Tomlin, of Egg Harbor Township, has been identified as the man who drowned in a quarry adjacent to Twisted Dune Golf Club.
His body was recovered from the quarry about 8:30 a.m. Friday. An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be asphyxia due to drowning, although no additional details were available Monday.
Haleigh Walz, spokeswoman for the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, said Tomlin’s next of kin have been notified.
Patti Robinson, Maurice’s sister, said Tomlin, who was 51, often fished at the quarry, which was within walking distance from where he lived with another sister. Tomlin had been missing for six days, she said.
He was an unemployed carpenter who specialized in cabinetry and trim work.
“He loved to build things, and he loved architecture,” said Robinson, 50, of Alexandria, Va. “He always did very intricate, precise work.”
After graduating from Middle Township High School, Tomlin traveled across the country doing construction jobs. Robinson said Tomlin had even traveled to Alaska to work in construction there and had most recently overseen construction on a family member’s home in West Virginia.
Robinson said her brother was a funny, easygoing man who was always helping those around him.
“He was pretty popular with people in his circle,” she said. “He was very well-liked, a likeable guy.”
Tomlin also had a passion for fishing and nature, Robinson said. The two siblings spent much of their childhoods outdoors.
“We were very in touch with nature and the Earth, and we swore we’d be both be archaeologists someday,” she said. “We still talked about it as adults in middle age.”
Their travels often separated the siblings, Robinson said, but her brother had recently moved back to his native New Jersey.
“When he lived closer in proximity, I got to spend a lot of time with him the past few years,” she said. “I’m grateful for that.”
Contact Wallace McKelvey:
609-272-7256
Follow @wjmckelvey on Twitter
