On the afternoon of November 1st, an unusually large breaking wave (seven to eight feet high) filled and capsized a 23-foot-long boat, dumping the four fishermen inside into the Atlantic Ocean just offshore of Shackleford Banks. Three of the men swam to shore, but the fourth – Robert Talbert, 69, of Clemons, North Carolina – remained with the boat. The men swam back to assist Talbert, but he’d lost his grip on the boat and was underwater. They pulled him to shore and began CPR. A passing boater alerted the Coast Guard, which in turn informed the National Park Service. Protection ranger Jay Morgan responded, but first on scene was park biologist Sue Stuska. The three survivors were taken to the NPS dock and assisted to the mainland by Coast Guard personnel and North Carolina Marine Fisheries officers. Talbert’s body was recovered by supervisory protection ranger Shad Dusseau, protection ranger Jay Morgan and a Coast Guard petty officer. The body was taken by boat to the Coast Guard station at Fort Macon and released to local officials.
