Authorities at Camp Lejeune made a somber discovery Sunday morning as teams responded to a report of a body found ashore on the military base at approximately 9:44 a.m. The area has been the site of an intensive search operation since a Goldsboro teen went missing on July 4. According to QCNews, the identity of the body has not yet been confirmed, but this development marks a tragic turn in the ongoing search efforts.
Efforts to locate the teenager involved multiple emergency and law enforcement agencies. They have been combing the New River Inlet relentlessly to possibly rescue, now more likely to recover, the young man. As reported by WFMY News 2, the family has been notified about the body's discovery, even though a formal identification is pending.
The teenager, who has been missing since the holiday, was part of a family group visiting the New River Inlet. The group had finished fishing and as they were preparing to leave, the teen and another brother plunged back into the water for one last swim. A crisis emerged as they cried for help. "I heard them say 'Help, help, help.' I told my brother-in-law to help them out because he's the only one that can swim," Yunior Perez, the brother of Mainor, the missing teen, told ABC11. "He saved one of my brothers and the other one disappeared into the water."
This incident has prompted a multimodal search operation, engaging crews to thoroughly search the surrounding waters including the entirety of New River Inlet. Despite these efforts, until now, the search had yielded no sign of the missing youth. A statement obtained by North Topsail Beach officials captured the community's grief, "We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time.", as reported by ABC11.
