DOVER – DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers responded to a report from Dewey Beach seasonal police officers of an overdue windsurfer who went missing on Rehoboth Bay Thursday evening after embarking from Towers Road Bayside in Dewey Beach. The uninjured missing male windsurfer was located at 7:45 a.m. today at Bay City off Long Neck, and was subsequently transported to his vehicle by Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers.

The windsurfer, who was outfitted with required safety equipment including a lifejacket and whistle, indicated to Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police that the sail disconnected from his board and could not be reset, and that his whistle was unheard while he was on the water, resulting in him floating for about six hours from his starting location to Bay City, where he was able to safely reach shore.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers were part of the search team consisting of the Dewey Beach Police Department, Delaware State Police, Delaware State Police Aviation, USCG Station Indian River, and USCG Aviation.

Windsurfers (also known as sailboarders) and kiteboarders are reminded that they must have a life jacket and a sound-producing device, such as a whistle or horn, when underway. Additional safety tips for board sports include informing someone of your expected course and when you expect to return; not straying too far from shore; wearing a wetsuit to avoid hypothermia; looking out for and avoiding other vessels and their wakes; and staying aware that your sail can block your view of other vessels.

• Like Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Facebook, www.facebook.com/pages/Delaware-Fish-Wildlife-Natural-Resources-Police.
• Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Twitter, https://twitter.com/DE_FW_NRPolice.

Contact: Sgt. Brooke Mitchell, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9086 or 302-354-1386

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LAUREL – DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police are searching for a suspect in an assault on one of their officers in the Nanticoke Wildlife Area near Laurel last night.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers are attempting to locate Daniel A. Allen, 21, of Seaford. Allen was contacted by Fish & Wildlife officers when he was found trespassing after hours in the Nanticoke Wildlife Area. During an associated traffic stop, the suspect assaulted one of the officers, fled on foot, and jumped into Broad Creek. Allen was last seen by pursuing officers swimming towards the opposite shoreline.

Delaware State Police officers and Delaware State Police Aviation responded to assist with a ground search. Additional Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers and local fire departments responded with vessels and conducted a search of Broad Creek, but the suspect was not located.

The ongoing investigation into the incident is being conducted by Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police. Anyone with information regarding this incident or the location of Daniel A. Allen are asked to contact Lieutenant Casey Zolper, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, at 302-381-5718.

Media Contacts: Lt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913 or 302-354-1386, or Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart Announces New Search Service

Dover, DE – Do you believe your deceased loved one has a life insurance policy that you cannot find? The Delaware Department of Insurance can help you try to locate it.

Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart today announced that the Department now provides Delaware residents and their families with a free search service that can help locate missing life insurance policies or annuity contracts left behind by loved ones who have passed away.

“I’m happy that the Department has set up this new service to help Delawareans locate lost insurance policies that were purchased in our state,’ said Commissioner Stewart. “Our search will enable eligible persons to contact every life and annuity insurer licensed in Delaware in order to look for a lost policy or contract. I’m always fighting for consumers and this new service should help many of them find the benefits to which they are entitled.”

The service works like this: An executor, beneficiary or legal representative of a deceased resident or former resident of Delaware may file a search request with the Department of Insurance. To submit a request, print out the Missing Life Insurance/Annuity Search Request Form on the DOI website at

http://www.delawareinsurance.gov/services/missingpolicy.shtml.

The form should be filled out, then signed before a Notary Public. Be sure to attach a copy of the decedent’s certified death certificate. Then place the documents in an envelope marked “Confidential” and mail it to the address printed on the form.

Please note that the Department of Insurance does not guarantee that every requested policy will be found. Upon receipt of the request form, the Department will send the search request and any attachments to all Delaware-licensed life insurance companies for review. An insurance company must process a policy and/or contract if they have information about a life insurance policy or annuity contract on the deceased person’s life. The insurance company will contact the requestor directly if money is to be paid to them.

Call the Consumers Division at 1-800-282-8611 if you need additional information.

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DOVER – Delawareans can now review the license status of doctors, accountants, realtors, plumbers, cosmetologists, and many other professionals directly from their smartphones, adding a new level of convenience to their search for professional services. The new search tool is a free mobile application that allows users to search Division of Professional Regulation records by name, license number, license type, or location. They can learn whether a given professional has a current license in Delaware and whether or not any disciplinary actions have been taken against that professional.

The new mobile Professional License Search tool was created for the Division of Professional Regulation in partnership with the Delaware Government Information Center (GIC) as part of Delaware’s eGovernment initiative, which seeks to make it easier for Delawareans to interact with their government.

“We are pleased to offer mobile access to the Professional License Search,” said Deputy Secretary of State James Collins, who oversees the Division of Professional Regulation. “We are always looking for tools to help customers make informed choices about the professionals providing them services. This is in keeping with Governor Markell’s priorities to make government more efficient, effective, and as in this case, transparent.”

The Professional License Search application is a joint creation of Delaware State Government and Delaware Interactive (DI). The State engaged DI last year to increase the number of online services available to citizens and businesses through the state’s official portal, delaware.gov.

The application is available on any mobile or desktop platform. It can be accessed at egov.delaware.gov/pls or at the State of Delaware mobile applications site, apps.delaware.gov.

The Division of Professional Regulation (DPR) is a part of the Delaware Department of State. More information about the DPR can be obtained at dpr.delaware.gov.

DOVER, Del. (February 29, 2012) – The Delaware Government Information Center (GIC) has released an innovative new phone directory search tool designed to help citizens find the right state office to answer their questions or provide them with desired services. The new search tool, phonedirectory.delaware.gov, is part of the state’s award-winning web portal and is designed to work equally well on desktop computers, laptops, pad-style devices and smartphone browsers.

“We strive each day to make government more accessible to the public and to provide exceptional service in all that we do,” said Governor Jack Markell. “A critical part of accessibility is making sure people can easily find the contact information they need.”

The system pulls information from a database created and maintained by staff in the GIC, working with state agency leaders. The database is based on internal state agency phone listings but has been updated with new types of information and carefully edited and augmented in order to guide users to the most helpful contact points within state government.

The new directory allows users to search by individual, agency or thing. A person seeking recreational opportunities might search for “Parks and Recreation,” or simply “trails” and find not only phone numbers to call, but maps of office locations, website links and links to any social media that agencies use, as well.

Each listing also includes a Quick Response (QR) Code that links to a virtual business card listing, designed for ease of use on smartphone and mobile screens and which can be saved to a user’s personal contacts list.

“We are working to make government more efficient and effective by creating easy-to-use eGovernment tools for Delawareans,” said GIC Director Greg Hughes. “This is part of a larger eGovernment effort, led by GIC and involving partners from agencies throughout state government.”

The GIC is part of the Delaware Department of State and is charged with ensuring that the public has free and equal access to state, local, and federal government information and resources or, as the GIC staff like to put it: “connecting citizens to government.”

The GIC manages the delaware.gov web portal; advises state agencies on website design, eGovernment, and social media policy; and assists local governments with their web sites.