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.

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 Snead accidentally drowned. A shark did not kill him."

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.