The family of Erik Mezick, the delivery driver whose truck went over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in December, says the body found Friday morning at Cape Hatteras National Seashore is him.
“Erik has been found in North Carolina! We have just been notified! We will be back with more information as we get it! We said he would present himself when he was ready and in true Eric style he did just that today on his favorite beach! We love you all!” the family said in their Finding Erik Mezick Facebook page.
National Park Service law enforcement rangers, Dare County Sheriff’s Office, Dare County Emergency Medical Services and Chicamacomico Banks Fire Department all responded to the 911 call of a body on the beach between the villages of Salvo and Avon at 9:14 a.m., the seashore said in news release. A local resident found the remains while out on the beach.
Shortly after arriving on scene, responders confirmed that the individual, identified only as a male, was dead.
The body appeared to have been in the ocean for an extended period of time, the National Park Service said. The remains will be transferred to the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office.
Erik Mezick went missing Dec. 29 when the 20-foot delivery truck he was driving went off the bridge in the northbound lanes near the second island of the bridge complex. Witnesses reported seeing the truck go into the water and a man exit and drift west, according to the Coast Guard.
Despite a massive search effort, Mezick, 47, of Fruitland, Maryland, was not found. He left behind his wife of 24 years and two children.
The 17.6-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opened in 1964 and crosses over and under open waters where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Shortly after it opened, the bridge complex was named one of the seven engineering wonders of the modern world.
