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The North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office in Greenville positively identified the body found near Point Peter Road as Alexander Rush, according to a statement mid-day Monday from Sergeant John Beardsley with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Rush had been reported missing after not returning from a solo kayak fishing trip in early December.

Rush was reported to have launched his kayak around 7 p.m. on December 5 from the access on the mainland side of the William B. Umstead Bridge (old Manns Harbor bridge). He was last heard from at approximately 10 p.m. Saturday night, according to the Coast Guard.

Local agencies began searching for Rush the following night. The Coast Guard stated that watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina Command Center received a notification from Dare County emergency dispatcher at approximately 10:30 p.m. Sunday, December 6 after the missing man’s wife made a 911 report.

The search for Rush included numerous agencies – Coast Guard, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Manns Harbor Volunteer Fire Department and Dare County Sheriff’s Office – as well as countless volunteers. Equipment deployed during the search included fixed wing, rotary wing aircraft, drones, sonar and numerous boats.

A body was discovered on the shoreline on the Dare County mainland last Monday afternoon.

“Today at approximately 3:00 p.m. a duck hunter discovered a deceased person on the shore line between Manns Harbor and Stumpy Point near Point Peter Road,” stated Beardsley on December 28. “Dare County Sheriffs Department, NC Wildlife Law Enforcement, Dare County Medical Examiners, and Stumpy Point Volunteer Fire Department worked together to recover the body.”

Beardsley stated that a positive identification was not achieved at the scene and the body was moved to the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office in Greenville for an autopsy and identification.

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