Guide dies while taking people on watercraft tour on NC’s Outer Banks, officials say
A guide died while giving a personal watercraft tour Friday on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, officials say.
Kenneth Miller, 32 of Kitty Hawk, was leading a group of about 10 people on a nature tour of the Currituck Sound when his water scooter ran aground in the shallow water of Poplar Branch Bay, which leads into the sound, Sergeant John Beardsley with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Law Enforcement division told McClatchy News on Sunday.
The watercraft pulled up debris, which clogged up its impeller, Beardsley said. Miller then jumped off his water scooter and into the water but didn’t resurface.
Personal watercrafts or water scooters are often referred to as WaveRunners or Jet Skis, which are trademarked brand names.
A witness called 911 at about 5 p.m. and the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office responded. Miller was found floating face down in the water with a life jacket on, Beardsley says.
Officers pulled him onto their boat and started CPR. They then took him to shore a few hundred yards away and continued CPR on a resident’s dock.
The Currituck County EMS and Lower Currituck Fire Department also responded, and EMS took over CPR and other life-saving measures. They attempted to revive Miller for more than an hour before pronouncing him dead, according to Beardsley.
The Kitty Hawk Police Department also helped with the notification of Miller’s death.
Officials haven’t determined the cause of death, and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has requested an autopsy, Beardsley told McClatchy.
This story was originally published June 21, 2020 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Guide dies while taking people on watercraft tour on NC’s Outer Banks, officials say."
