Body found after empty boat seen doing circles off North Carolina coast, officials say

A body was found off the North Carolina coast after an empty boat was seen traveling in circles, officials said.

Someone called to report that the 16-foot boat was cutting circles in the water off Emerald Isle near the Bogue Inlet Pier around 3:40 p.m. Friday, May 13, officials with the U.S. Coast Guard told the Carteret County News-Times.

The Coast Guard later got a report that the boat had run aground, Petty Officer Steve Lehmann told McClatchy News on Sunday, May 15, and crews confirmed that no one was on board.

Family members told officials that the man who had been on the boat had gone out fishing alone, WITN reported.

Helicopter and boat crews with the Coast Guard along with local agencies began searching for the man, Lehmann said, and his body was found shortly after. Officials told WITN his body was found about a mile off Bogue Inlet.

The man’s name has not been publicly released, and no additional information was available May 15.

Emerald Isle is 145 miles southeast of Raleigh.

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