The Virginian-Pilot
©
OUTER BANKS -- 15-year-old Craig Marshall of Hampstead, N.C. drowned Friday while surfing with a group of friends after his board and leash were caught on a piling under a pier in Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Bob Helle, the assistant chief with the Hatteras Island Rescue Squad, said a report came in at 11:53 a.m., that a surfer was stuck under the Avon Fishing Pier. The tide was low, he said, the surf was eight to 10 feet, and there was a strong long shore current running 6-7 knots south.
The teenager, who had been surfing north of the pier, had drifted under the pier between the pilings, Helle said. When the squad’s rescue swimmer reached the surfer, he said, the boy was deceased. His body was found under the water pinned against a piling, with his surfboard on the other side of it, his leash wrapped around the piling.
“The current held him in place,” Helle said.
Before a recovery plan could be implemented, he said, the surfboard broke and the body was carried 200 yards south of the pier, where it was recovered at 12:40 p.m.
Helle said that Marshall was surfing with eight friends from a Wilmington, N.C.-area church group. The National Park Service is investigating.
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I know him and he will be
I know him and he will be very missed. He indeed hit his head on the people and was knocked unconscious. RIP Craig!
Very sad..and tragic..but...
shouldn't he have been in school at that time? It was just something I thought about when I read the article. Definately sad on many levels. Thoughts and prayers to the family.
Inappropriate
I can't believe that you would comment that you question that he should have been in school. Who cares where he should have been? The fact is the accident happened. Your comment is disturbing and really violates the rules for posting comments. "No disparaging comments about a victim or victim's family in a tragedy."
Sad
That is horribly sad. I know when I used to surf I would use a velcro leash, which was easy to take off. I'd bet he hit his head.
Sad
Most all leashes are velcro...even though the surf isnt that epic around here...I always use break-a-way leashes for instances like that...I got pinned at Harrison's pier one time and I pulled my pin and I was out of there with some barancle holes in me but I was still breathing
Surfing Awareness
As a Surfing Instructor, my deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of this young man, particularly the friends who went surfing with him at the time. I am compelled to discuss what we teach on the first lesson of our surfing camp, Situational Awareness. Many accidents of this type as well as the young man who was struck by lightning at Wrightsville Beach recently, can be prevented with common sense. (Don't surf during lightning)
Someone could have realized that a 6 knot current moving toward the pier means you paddle out downstream of the pier. You must look at the situation and think about what could happen. We also teach that if you are swept toward the pier, ride a wave in on your belly, long before you get to the danger zone. It is very sad this young man lost his life, but if this event saves others by increasing their awareness, his death will have a benefit for others.
Craig
As Craig's best friend, I was with him in his last hour, I watched as my best friend drown right in front of my eyes. I was the one who chose to surf at Avon Pier, and I was the one who decided to surf on the other side of the pier. After being with my best friend one moment, and then watching as paramedics dragged him up onto the beach, I can say that I have been through a lot. And i have struggled everyday since it happened. Sir, i understand that you are trying to insure safety amongst the public, but comments that questioned my choice to surf on the other side of the pier offend me. I realized how real God was that day. I had a strong belief in God and had a strong walk with him also, so did my best friend, Craig Marshall. Through my faith in God, I am proud to say that everything happens for a reason. All of our choices and all of our actions. All the events in our life follow directly with the Lord's plan. As it says in Jeremiah 29:11 -For i know the plans i have for you, declares the Lord. Plans not for disaster, but for a future and a hope- I looked at this verse when i got home from the trip that would change my life forever. I prayed on that beach that morning that God wo