RedactedNarrative: On 04/09/2018, I responded to Singletary Lake State Park in reference to a missing person, who was last seen in a canoe on Singletary Lake State Park in Kelly, NC.  Upon my arrival, I spoke with Park Ranger.  Ranger informed me that operator was missing and was last seen Friday evening around dusk in a canoe on Singletary Lake.  Ranger also stated that Operator was reported missing by his church group on the morning of April 7, 2018 around 10:00 hours.  At this time Ranger stated that the church group had begun searching the park own their own and had located Operator's canoe on the other side of the lake from where he was last seen the night before.  At this time Bladen County Emergency Management had begun an organized search for Operator on both land and water.  After receiving this information, I began interviewing witnesses that saw Operator on the evening of April 6, 2018.  
  The individual who discovered the abandoned canoe stated that he found the canoe right side up with Operator's cell phone, bluetooth head set, black jacket, and a red type IV throwable PFD.  Subject1 also stated that there was only a small puddle of water in the canoe.  Subject1 stated that Operator was nowhere to be found.  However, Subject1 did say that Operator was a very good swimmer and outdoorsman.  I asked if Operator would normally wear his PFD.  Subject1 stated that Operator did not ever wear a PFD because they were uncomfortable. 
  Subject2 was in charge of the church function at Singletary Lake State Park on April 06, 2018.  Subject2 also stated that he saw Operator on the evening that he went missing.  Subject2 stated that he saw Operator in his canoe singing and slowly paddling out into the lake around 19:15 hours.  Subject2 stated that Operator would often go out on the canoe to worship alone.  The Pastor also stated that he had previously seen Operator standing up in the canoe and paddling it like a stand-up paddle board.  Subject2 told me that around 03:30 hours on April 7, 2018 that other campers notified him that Operator was missing. 
  Two subjects stated that they had seen an “empty” canoe on the evening of April 6, 2018.  They stated that they were paddling back to the shore that night around 19:45 right at dusk.  Subject3 stated that she told her husband that “he must be having a good time, he is laying down in the canoe.”  Subject4 confirmed that he saw the vacant canoe as well.  They stated that they could only see the silhouette of a canoe and did not hear any noises.  They then paddled back to shore.  They stated that they did not have any suspicions of the canoe until Operator did not show back up at camp the following morning.  
  On Saturday April 15, 2018 at 12:15 hours, I was informed that Operator's body had been recovered out of Singletary Lake.  Upon receiving this news, I proceeded to Singletary Lake State Park.  Upon my arrival Park Rangers had already loaded Operator's body into a body bag and sent him to the morgue at Bladen Regional Medical Center in Elizabethtown.  I then spoke with Ranger and she gave me the coordinates and the time in which they found Operator's body.  They are as follows: time: 12:15 hours, coordinates: 34.5903292, -78.4601065.  Ranger stated that Operator's body had a beanie hat on his head, cinched under his chin, khaki pants/belt, and black ankle socks.  Operator's body did not have a shirt or shoes when they recovered him.  Operator's body was found without a PFD.  I then assisted Ranger in the death notification to Operator's father, who was on scene. 
  
   I also spoke with Assistant Coroner for Bladen County and informed him that I needed a copy of the autopsy report when it becomes available.  Later that evening, I was contacted Chief Medical Examiner/Coroner for Bladen County.  He informed me that an autopsy would be performed on Operator first thing Tuesday, 4/17/18 morning in Raleigh.  He also told me that he would inform me when he receives the official autopsy report from Raleigh.  Nothing further at this time.
  