Body of 14-year-old boy swept away near beach washes ashore on camp base

By WRAL News Staff

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    NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH, North Carolina (WRAL) — Family says the body of 14-year-old Mainor Perez was found on Sunday after days of searching.

Perez’s body washed ashore on base at Camp Lejeune days after being swept away near North Topsail Beach.

Search crews had continued search and recovery efforts ever since Perez went missing near North Topsail Beach Thursday.

Camp Lejeune contacted North Topsail Beach authorities Sunday around 9:44 a.m. to notify them that a body had washed ashore. The North Topsail Police Department notified the victim’s family that people at Camp Lejune found the body.

Teenager swept away near Topsail Beach on July 4

Yunior Perez, Mainor’s brother, said the 14-year-old boy waded out into the New River Inlet with another brother when the water swept Mainor away.

Witnesses in the area reported that passengers in a nearby boat helped pull the other brother into the boat. The other brother made it to shore and reported that Mainor had gone under.

Yunior went to lie down in the sand and later heard ‘help help help.’

On Saturday afternoon, Mainor, a Southern Wayne High School student, was still missing.

“He couldn’t do anything because I saw him in the boat, and he tried to swim back by himself,” Yunior said.

North Topsail Beach Police began a search and deployed a drone.

“The person on the boat, he rescued one of my brothers, and then it took them 30-40 seconds,” Yunior said.

North Topsail Beach Fire Rescue and surrounding agencies launched boats, and the Coast Guard was on-site performing a search by helicopter and boat.

“It’s been hard because he was only doing favors for everybody,” Yunior said. “Doesn’t matter what.”

New River Inlet, located at the mouth of New River at the north end of Topsail Island, is known for strong currents, and signs were posted along the beach warning swimmers.

While this search and rescue was in progress, there were at least four water rescue calls in various locations along the 12 miles of beach.

“We’re going to miss him so much. I’m not sure how we’re going to go through this,” Yunior said. “It’s hard.”

Rip currents and rough surf were a threat up and down the North Carolina coast through the holiday weekend.

“We’re trying to at least recover his body because we can’t just leave him there underwater,” Yunior said.

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