Drifting vessel spotted with only a puppy aboard. Then man’s body found in NC river
A charter captain saw a boat drifting on a North Carolina river, wildlife officials said, but there was no owner on board.
The captain called the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission around 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 16, to report the floating vessel, a NCWRC spokesperson told McClatchy News in an email.
While there was no person on the boat, there was a puppy, a cellphone and a wallet, the spokesperson said.
About an hour and half later, a group of boaters passed by and found a man’s body “in the marsh grass near White Oak River waterfowl impoundment,” the spokesperson said.
The body was later identified as David Fletcher Noe, 49, of Stella, a town near North Carolina’s coastline.
Family members told officials that Noe was out on the water that day “testing out a repaired motor,” the spokesperson said. Earlier that day, other boaters had seen Noe driving his boat on the river.
Law enforcement determined there was no immediate indication of trauma to Noe’s body, officials said.
McClatchy News submitted a request for Noe’s autopsy report to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Oct. 20, but it is not yet available.
White Oak River is nearly 50 miles and runs through southeastern North Carolina and empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
This story was originally published October 20, 2023 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Drifting vessel spotted with only a puppy aboard. Then man’s body found in NC river."
