Sailboat Washes Ashore, Leads to Salisbury Arson Arrest

Wicomico County, MD - On May 5, 2021, firefighters responded to a business in the 32200 block of Beaver Run Drive, Salisbury, MD for a dumpster fire. More than five years later, the man accused of setting that fire is now in jail in Wicomico County, Maryland.

Michael S. Summar, 46, of Tennessee, was brought back to Maryland on Thursday, October 15, 2026. His arrest started with a sailboat that washed up on a Delaware shore.

The fire at the Beaver Run Drive business caused about $5,000 in damage. Investigators found that it had been set on purpose.

Deputy State Fire Marshals took on the case. During their investigation, they identified Summar as the person they believe started the fire.

An arrest warrant was issued for Summar in June 2021. He is charged with first-degree malicious burning, burning a trash container, and malicious destruction of property over $1,000.

For more than five years, that warrant went unserved. That changed when Summar's sailboat, named Piper, washed ashore near Cape Henlopen in Delaware.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control arrested Summar after the boat came ashore. While looking into the situation, Delaware authorities found the open warrant out of Maryland.

Officials have not shared what led to the arrest in Delaware or how the boat ended up on shore.

Extradition is the process used to send a person wanted in one state back to the state where the charges were filed. Summar was extradited from Delaware to Maryland on October 15, 2026.

Once he arrived in Maryland, Deputy State Fire Marshals served him with the 2021 warrant. He is being held at the Wicomico County Detention Center without bond.

Disclosure: All individuals mentioned in this article are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Eastern Shore Undercover® does not express or imply any opinion regarding the incident reported.