Charlie Griffin, a star of the Wicked Tuna TV series, his dog Leila, and a friend, Chad Dunn, 36, left Virginia Beach, Virginia, last Sunday on his 35-foot recreational fishing boat Jay’s Goodrun. They were heading for Pirate’s Cove Marina on Manteo on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, for repairs. They were last heard from about 6:15 p.m.
The seas around Oregon Inlet, where Pamlico Sound joins the Atlantic on the Outer Banks, are notoriously rough. The Coast Guard says that on Sunday they were running at 4 to 6 feet, and the winds were 10 to 15 knots.
About 11:30 that night, the Coast Guard got a call. Griffin’s boat was overdue. The Coast Guard, and other state and federal agencies, started a search. It quickly grew to include a helicopter, boats, ATVs on the beaches, and private boats owned by Griffin’s fans and friends.
On Monday morning, the boat was found on Pea Island, about two miles south of Oregon Inlet. The Coast Guard said it appeared to have capsized and washed ashore. The bodies of Griffin and his dog were also recovered on shore near the boat.
Dunn was missing. The Coast Guard called off the search for him after 41 hours.
Griffin had appeared in seasons two through five of the National Geographic’s production of Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks. The shows featured Griffin and his crew fishing for bluefin tuna off the coast of North Carolina.
