RedactedNarrative: On May 12, 2016 at approximately 13:30 I, NC Wildlife Officer1: received a call from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission Dispatch reporting a missing person on Shelter Creek, Burgaw, NC.  I made contact with Officer2 with the Pender County Sheriff''s office at approximately 13:39 and he advised me that Victim1, was reported missing and that his boat was recovered down the creek from his residence.  He advised that the victim had last been seen on Tuesday night, May 10th, 2016 in his yard.  I arrived on scene by boat at the victim's floating dock at approximately 14:30 on May 12th, 2016.  I observed the victim's green 12ft. Alumacraft  boat (Vessel 1, NC XXXXXX) tied to the victim's floating dock oriented with the bow pointing upstream.  Vessel 1 had a Motorguide Stealth 200 trolling motor attached to the transom with an Autocraft car battery positioned in the starboard aft of the stern of the vessel behind the bench seat.  The positive wire coming from the trolling motor was attached to the positive battery terminal with a clamp and the negative wire wasn't hooked to the battery.  In the floor of the Vessel 1 located beside the Autocraft battery, there was an open fifth of a gallon glass bottle of Travelers Club blended whiskey with approximately 1/3 of the whiskey still left in the bottle.  There was also an empty opened 12 ounce can of Natural light beer located in the floor of the port side stern of Vessel 1.  There was a yellow line wrapped around the shaft of the trolling motor on one end and tied on the other end to the port side of Vessel 1's hull cross beam near the bow.  The only other item inside Vessel 1 was an empty gallon size white bucket that was located in the floor of the bow.  I observed no obvious signs of damage to Vessel 1.  Officer2 boarded my boat and we began searching for the victim.  The two man crew onboard the Pender County EMS boat located a wooden homemade paddle belonging to the victim floating in the creek just a few yards downstream of the victim's floating dock.  Officer2 and I interviewed the victim's neighbor (Neighbor1) at approximately 09:45, on May 13, 2016 at her residence.  According to Neighbor1, at approximately 10:00 on May 12, 2016, she took her one man creek boat and paddled out to Vessel 1 which was floating unoccupied in the middle of Shelter Creek approximately halfway between her residence and the victim's residence.  Neighbor1 climbed onboard Vessel 1 and paddled the boat back to the victim's floating dock towing her creek boat alongside.  Neighbor1 said that she attempted to turn on the trolling motor of Vessel 1 when she boarded it, but it wouldn't work.  Neighbor1 said that she didn't mess with anything else in the boat.  At approximately 10:10 on May 13, 2016 Officer2 and I interviewed the victim's other neighbor (Neighbor2), at his residence.   According to Neighbor2, he saw the victim's unoccupied boat floating down Shelter Creek at approximately 10:00 May 12, 2016.  Neighbor2 said the victim's boat was located about 50 yards up the creek from his residence when he first saw it.  Neighbor2 said he last saw and talked to the victim Tuesday night May 10th, 2016 around 19:00 at the victim's residence.  Neighbor2 said that the victim was highly intoxicated that night.  On Sunday, May 15, 2016 at approximately 14:30 I received a call from Officer2 notifying me that a body had been discovered floating in Shelter Creek approximately 300 yards upstream from the victim's residence by the victim's ex-wife's husband, and the victim's son's friend.  NCWRC Officer3 and I arrived on scene with the body at approximately 15:40 by patrol boat.  Upon our arrival, Officer2 and EMS personnel were already there in the EMS boat.  I observed the victim floating face down with his head oriented north.  The victim's body was lodged up against an overhanging tree on the east side of Shelter Creek.  The victim was wearing a black torn t-shirt, khaki shorts, and wasn't wearing any shoes.  The victim's body was extremely boated, discolored, and was missing most of his right ear.  There were no obvious signs of trauma to the victim's body.  Sgt. And I assisted the Pender Co. Sheriff's Office and Pender EMS personnel load the victim into the EMS boat and transport the body to the Shelter Creek Wildlife Access Area.  The body was then loaded into an ambulance and transported to the New Hanover Memorial Hospital.  I attended the autopsy of the victim at Greenville Memorial Hospital at 10:00 on May 17, 2016.  The victim had his wallet on his person containing his NC Driver License which positively identified him.  Upon completion of the autopsy, the doctor determined the preliminary cause of death to be drowning.  The final diagnosis will be pending the toxicology and microscopy report.
  
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  PLEASE NOTE:   The operator experience and education are unknown.  The weather, water conditions and wind are also unknown for this report. As noted in report the operation and activity at the time of this incident is "unknown".
                          It is also "unknown" as to what made the victim fall overboard in this incident.
  
                          When the final diagnosis is received from the autopsy report, this report will be updated in BARD.
  
  NOTHING FURTHER AT THIS TIME.