BUXTON, N.C. (WAVY) — Ahead of potential winter weather, the United Cajun Navy is intensifying search efforts to locate Chris Palmer who was declared a missing person on Jan. 16.
National Park Service seeking public’s help to locate missing man
According to the United Cajun Navy Incident Commander Josh Gill, the volunteer-based organization is urgently seeking aid from anyone with access to an aircraft to “support aerial reconnaissance.” He added it would significantly speed up the search.
The United Cajun Navy is working closely with the National Park Service at Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Mission Mules and Mountain Mule Packers. “Our UCN Texas and North Carolina SAR team is supporting planning and guidance, and Team Texas K9s is assisting to locate specific scent and track targets in the area where Chris Palmer was last believed to be,” Gill said in a statement on Facebook.
Avon Fire Department is additionally serving as their boots-on-the-ground response team.
Palmer is described as approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall with blue eyes and strawberry-blond hair. He is believed to be traveling with his German Shepheard and may still be in the Cape Point area.
If you have the resources the United Cajun Navy is requesting, contact them immediately at 1-844-482-6289.
The National Park Service is working to find missing 39-year-old Chris Palmer, whose truck was found on the beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Jan. 9.
According to the NPS, Palmer was declared a missing person by Arkansas authorities on Jan. 16.
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After a review of Dare County traffic camera footage, investigators determined that his red 2017 Ford F-250 was in Dare County, North Carolina, as early as the afternoon of Jan. 9. A blue and white kayak could be seen in the back of the truck.
NPS said pings to Palmer’s phone indicated that the phone was near Avon on the night of Jan. 10 and near Cape Point in Buxton on Jan. 11.
On Jan. 12, NPS law enforcement found his truck stuck on the beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. According to visitor reports, the truck was still stuck on the beach the day before.
The kayak was not in the car when it was found on the beach, and the kayak has not been found.
Officials believe Palmer is traveling with his German shepherd and could still be in the Outer Banks area.
Anyone who has seen Palmer or knows where he might be is asked to call the National Park Service tip line at 888-653-0009.
He is approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, with blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair.
EMERGENCY responders have made an urgent plea for help in their search for missing hiker Chris Palmer as a brutal ice storm is set to rain down on crews.
The United Cajun Navy, which is assisting with efforts, said they need a key piece of equipment to fully investigate the beach where the 39-year-old adventurer and his dog Zoey disappeared.
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Chris Palmer, 39, and his dog Zoey were declared missing after his abandoned truck was found in the Outer Banks in North CarolinaCredit: National Park Service
The United Cajun Navy is begging for help with their searchCredit: Facebook/United Cajun Navy
Speaking in a Facebook reel, United Cajun Navy Incident Commander Josh Gill said they are intensifying their search of the Outer Banks in North Carolina before Winter Storm Fern blows in.
He said they were “urgently seeking assistance from anyone with access to an airplane, helicopter, or other aircraft to support aerial reconnaissance in the area.”
“Terrain in this region is difficult and aerial eyes would significantly speed up the search,” the nonprofit organization wrote.
Fears for Palmer’s safety grew after his Ford F-250 was found abandoned on a beach in Cape Hatteras – a bend in the Outer Banks with sand dunes, marshes, and forests – on January 12.
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On January 16, authorities in Arkansas, where Palmer is from, declared the hiker missing after no one claimed the vehicle.
The National Park Service has now released a new surveillance image from January 9 which shows a white and blue kayak in the back of Palmer’s truck.
They said the kayak was nowhere to be seen when they found the empty vehicle.
Cell phone tower data shows Palmer’s phone pinged near Avon on January 10 and Cape Point on January 11, which are both areas of the Outer Banks.
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In a Facebook post, Palmer’s dad Bren said that he hadn’t heard from his son since January 9, when the hiker said in a text that he was heading to Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia.
Palmer vanished in the midst of a road trip through the National Parks in the southeast, which saw him camping in Tennessee and Virginia.
The NPS is urgently asking for information from the public, especially from any boaters who have cruised through the cape around the time Palmer disappearance.
Palmer is described as standing at 5 feet 6 inches with blue eyes and strawberry-blond hair.
The worried dad said that they’re praying for answers and appreciate the support.
In his video, Gill said, “I’ve been speaking to the mother and father, keeping them updated on what’s been going on.
“They wanna know what happened to their son.”
Timeline of Chris Palmer’s disappearance
January 9 – Palmer texts his dad and says he is heading to Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia
January 12 – Palmer’s abandoned Ford F-250 is found at Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks of North Carolina
January 16 – Palmer is declared missing by authorities in Arkansas, where he is from
January 22 – Officials release new surveillance that shows a kayak used to be in the bed of Palmer’s truck
The NPS said that the kayak seen in the back of Palmer’s truck was missing when the vehicle was found abandonedCredit
