By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-21 14:32:40 | Updated at 2025-04-04 23:11:41
2 weeks ago
A group of scientists made a grim discovery as they were testing water samples from a North Carolina river.
Several university scientists were conducting tests in the stretch of the clouded, 202-mile-long Cape Fear River on Tuesday afternoon when a body appeared, prompting authorities to launch an investigation.
'A group of scientists conducting water tests made the discovery,' the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation said in a news release, adding that recovery efforts were more difficult due to the recent storms plaguing the state.
At around 2.30pm Tuesday afternoon, the group of scientists made the horrifying discovery of a body resting at a spot in the stretch of the river running through eastern Fayetteville, roughly a 65-mile drive from Raleigh.
The chilling ordeal prompted a 911 call, where the police department then responded to the scene. The recovery process was impacted, authorities said, as North Carolina has been recovering from devastating storms.
'The recovery of the body was delayed due to fallen trees and debris resulting from past hurricanes,' authorities said.
Authorities believe that the body may have entered the river from another county and drifted down the river before coming to rest at a spot between River Road and Highway 295.
The river, which covers 9,000-square-miles, has 'more than 1,100 dams and blockages' according to experts, The News & Observer reported.
Several university scientists were conducting tests in the stretch of the clouded, 202-mile-long Cape Fear River in North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon when they chillingly stumbled upon a body
Authorities believe that the body may have entered the river from another county and drifted down the river before coming to rest at a spot between River Road and Highway 295
The recovery process was impacted, authorities said, as North Carolina is recovering from devastating storms, specifically 'fallen trees and debris resulting from past hurricanes'
The 'murky-colored waterway' also cuts through 'some of the largest urban areas in North Carolina before disgorging into the Atlantic Ocean,' according to the Wilmington Star-News.
An investigation was swiftly launched and the body was sent to the North Carolina Medical Examiner's Office for further analysis, including determining the cause of death and identifying the individual.
The bureau said that the investigation into the discovery is still ongoing at this point.
On the very same day, another body was found in a notorious underwater labyrinth in Florida following the disappearance of a scuba diver during a trip.
Police were called to Twin Caves in the Blue Springs Recreation Area on Tuesday afternoon after three people failed to return to the surface on time.
Twin Caves extends back hundreds of feet and has three passages that drop to even greater depths. The cavern descends in stages going from 20ft to 100ft deep. It also features multiple 'jump tunnels' that run off into wider tunnels.
Rescue teams quickly swooped and dragged two of them out of the complex cavern to safety at around 1.15pm.
But the third diver, who has not been named, was found dead in the system. The coroner is working to determine the cause of death.
