Rescue operation underway on Cape Fear River

Moncure, NC – This morning, at approximately 9:45AM, the Chatham County Emergency Operations Center received a call related to an occupant of a small vessel that had been pulled into the undercurrent of the Buckhorn Dam, on the Cape Fear River near Moncure.  One occupant of the boat, a 59-year-old white male, was pulled from the boat and last seen floating in the middle of the Cape Fear channel.  The sole male victim is believed to have had a black lifejacket on at the time he was pulled from the vessel. 

Buckhorn Dam on the Cape Fear river (Flickr image)

A search and rescue operation is currently underway, with members of Chatham County Emergency Management, the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, the Moncure Fire Department, the North Chatham Fire Department, the Apex Fire Department, Lee County Emergency Management, Harnett County Emergency Management, North Carolina Wildlife Law Enforcement, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and First Health of the Carolinas involved at this time.  All other appropriate agencies operating downstream of the site of the accident have been notified to be vigilant in watching for the victim.