Boat runs aground at night in Pamlico Sound, leaving 2 trapped, NC rescuers say

A rescue was staged Tuesday in the Pamlico Sound after a 40-foot vessel became stranded in the dark and started sinking, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission reports.

Two people, a man and woman, were pulled off the boat and carried to safety, according to Lt. John Beardsley, District 1 Law Enforcement Officer for the commission. Pamlico Sound is an 80-mile-long estuary west of the Outer Banks.

“Officers received a call around 10 p.m. reporting that a vessel had run aground near Long Shoal, approximately nine miles south of Stumpy Point, and was taking on water,” Beardsley said in an April 15 news release.

“Responding officers located the vessel and safely rescued Frankie Belcher and Kyndal Griswold, both of Smyrna, N.C., transporting them to the Stumpy Point boating access area.”

An investigation revealed the boaters left Wanchese on Roanoke Island around 8 p.m., and were headed to Beaufort, N.C., when conditions on the water became dangerous, officials said.

“They encountered strong winds and rough seas. The vessel struggled to maintain course and speed before ultimately running aground near Long Shoal,” officials said. “Neither occupant was injured during the incident.”

Long Shoal is in a remote spot along the Dare-Hyde county line and is surrounded by marsh and swamp land that is impossible to safely tread in the dark, experts say.

Stumpy Point is about a 195-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.

This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Boat runs aground at night in Pamlico Sound, leaving 2 trapped, NC rescuers say."