Editor's note: This updates with new information from the family of the missing person.
The family of a man missing at Cape Hatteras National Seashore has asked that searchers call off efforts to find him.
"We recently learned that Christopher was facing a terminal illness. Knowing this has helped us understand the choices he made. Christopher loved the outdoors and valued his independence. The treatments ahead would have taken much of that away, and he did not want that future for himself," Bren Palmer, who identified himself as the missing man's father, wrote on Facebook. "Personal belongings of Christopher’s were found along the coastline, and our family believes our son perished in the sea. As heartbreaking as this is, we have found a measure of peace in that understanding."
The National Park Service previously asked the public to offer any information that could assist in locating Palmer, 39, who was declared a missing person by Arkansas authorities after his vehicle was found stuck on the beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Investigators reviewed Dare County traffic camera footage and determined that Palmer’s red 2017 Ford F-250 was in Dare County, North Carolina, as early as the afternoon of January 9, and a blue and white kayak was observed in the back of the vehicle. Pings to Palmer’s mobile phone show that the phone was located near Avon on the evening of January 10 and near Cape Point in Buxton on January 11.
On January 12, Park Service law enforcement rangers found Palmer’s vehicle on the beach, and according to visitor reports, the vehicle was also there on January 11. The blue and white kayak previously seen in camera footage was not in the vehicle and has not yet been found.
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