By Staff
Chocowinity Bay boating trip ends in tragedy
By GREG KATSKI
Staff Writer
An evening that started with water tubing struck tragedy when a 19 year old jumped from a boat into the Chocowinity Bay and failed to surface.
The body of Ronald Manuel Armston of Williamston, was found between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Saturday after a lengthy search and rescue mission, according to Sgt. Ed Alston with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Armston and five other individuals were boating on the bay, he said.
The Coast Guard received a call at about 8 p.m. Friday from one of the individuals on the boat with Armston at the time of the incident, Alston said.
The Coast Guard radioed emergency services in Beaufort County, which arrived at the scene shortly thereafter.
By 10 p.m., the River Patrol Unit with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Bath Water Rescue, Sidney Dive Team, Chocowinity Emergency Medical Service, Chocowinity Fire Department, Bunyan Fire Department, Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS-Inspections Department and the Coast Guard were engaged in the search and rescue.
While some were involved in search and rescue, others kept the bay clear of boats, Alston said.
A drowning investigation is underway, according to Alston.
Until an autopsy is conducted, the cause of death will remain undetermined, he said.