The Dorsal Fin

According to the Virginia Pilot, the death of a Pennsylvania man, who was vacationing at North Carolina’s Outer Banks last September, has been ruled an accidental drowning, according to the final autopsy report. The initial autopsy indicated that the man had died as a result of shark bites.

In October, reports surfaced that the cause of death had been changed , but a statement from East Carolina University, where the autopsy occurred, said that the “continued uncertainty” would require that the case be further reviewed. According to the Virginia Pilot article, doctors reviewed the case with marine biologists and concluded that “death was likely not due to shark attack.”

Regardless of the cause of death, a loss of life is always tragic. Hopefully, now that the autopsy report has been finalized, the family and friends of the victim can have some closure in this case.

According to the Virginia Pilot, North Carolina’s medical examiners office has reverted back to its original conclusion in the cause of death of a Pennsylvania man who went missing while swimming off Corolla Beach, NC, last month. Earlier today, the Virginia Pilot reported the medical examiner’s office had ruled the cause of death as an accidental drowning. According to the latest Virginia Pilot article, the cause of death was reverted back to a shark attack after another marine biologist reviewed the evidence. However, Crystal Baity, a spokesperson for East Carolina University, where the autopsy occurred, said that the "continued uncertainty" will require that the case be further reviewed. Baity said she was unaware of how long the final review would take.

The flip-flopping in the ruling likely explains why the story appeared and then disappeared from WAVY-TV 10′s website yesterday. Hopefully, the medical examiner’s office can come to a solid conclusion soon.

In an update to yesterday’s post, multiple news sources are now reporting that the state medical examiner’s office has changed the cause of death from shark attack to accidental drowning, in the case of a 60-year old Pennsylvania man who went missing last month after going for a late-night swim off of Corolla Beach in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The Virginia Pilot, is now reporting that "a spokesman for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, where the autopsy was conducted, confirmed the change in the cause of death." In addition, East Carolina Radio News is also reporting that a report from the office of the medical examiner in Greenville, NC states that the victim had drowned prior to sustaining shark bites.

It is unclear how or why the cause of the death was apparently misdiagnosed. As one reader commented at the Virginia Pilot article, “I hope this does not add to the family’s anguish.”

WAVY-TV 10 reported earlier today that the North Carolina state Medical Examiner has now ruled the death of a 60-year old Pennsylvania man as an accidental drowning. Last month, it was reported that the Medical Examiner was seeking a second opinion on the cause of death. According to the WAVY-TV 10 article, "The Medical Examiner’s Office in Greenville, N.C. reviewed images of the body with marine biologists and came to the conclusion that [the victim] accidentally drowned. A shark did not kill him."

The WAVY-TV 10 story, which appeared in Google News listings, has since disappeared.

Interestingly enough, the article, which was published today at 1:01 EDT, has since been pulled from the WAVY-TV 10 website. The article is still appearing in Google News listings and is available for viewing through a cached Google page, although it is not clear why the story has been pulled from the website. This reported new finding by the Medical Examiner has yet to appear at any other local media sources that I have been able to track down. The fact that it was pulled from WAVY.com not long after it was published and the lack of the report showing up elsewhere draw the validity of the story into question, at this time.

Regardless of the Medical Examiner’s ultimate ruling, the loss of the victim’s life is no less tragic. My thoughts and sympathies go out to his friends and family. I have chosen not to repeat the victim’s name regarding this news (or, perhaps, falsely reported news), as I’m sure having his name appearing in the news, yet again, likely will serve only to remind those he left behind of their tragic loss.