Dispatchers received a 911 call at 12:40 p.m. Saturday reporting “multiple individuals in distress” in the water near the end of Persimmon Street, Currituck County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Ralph Melton said.

Ocean rescue lifeguards from Bismark Street were already in the water when the call came in and additional lifeguards were deployed. By 12:42 p.m., fire and EMS was dispatched to assist.

“The ocean rescue shift supervisor confirmed that one swimmer was unaccounted for and presumed submerged,” Melton said. He identified the boy as Amir Abou, who lived with his family in Woodbine, Maryland, a community west of Baltimore and east of Frederick.

Currituck Fire and EMS Capt. Bob Pugh deployed more than 20 lifeguards and a jet ski while the Coast Guard dispatched an MH-60 helicopter, which performed search patterns until 4 p.m. Meanwhile, rescue workers were “strategically positioned on beach access stairs” for an elevated spot to look for the boy, and to keep an eye on rescue swimmers in the water, Melton said. Other rescue crews prepared to take Abou as a patient if he was found. In all, more than 50 first responders were called into action for the search.

At 4:10 p.m., lifeguards conducting a line search on shore located Abou in the water.

Coast Guard ends search for 12-year-old boy pulled under water off Corolla beach

“He was immediately moved to an ambulance positioned on the beach for assessment and potential treatment,” Melton said. But the boy had been submerged for about three and a half hours and no resuscitation efforts were initiated. He was pronounced dead at 4:16 p.m.

The National Weather Service forecast for Saturday called for a moderate risk of rip currents along Outer Banks beaches.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victim during this difficult time,” Melton said.

Authorities received a call at 11:30 p.m. from a surf-fishing visitor who witnessed a side-by-side utility terrain vehicle hit a horse standing on the beach near milepost 20, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund said in a social media post.

The driver fled the scene, but bystanders gave a detailed description and the UTV registration returned to 57-year-old Porter Williamson of Chesapeake, said Currituck County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jeff Walker.

While towing the UTV, deputies saw Williamson return to the scene, but he fled again and was caught after a short foot pursuit, Walker said. Williamson was charged with resisting, delaying or obstructing law enforcement and jailed on a $10,000 bond. Deputies also charged his wife, Rhonda Williamson, on the same charge for “false information to law enforcement,” Walker said. She was jailed on a $5,000 bond.

Bullwinkle, a 10-year-old stallion, suffered skin trauma, a broken right hind leg with fracture of the lower femur, left hind trauma and internal injuries from the force of impact, the CWHF said.

“Bullwinkle’s injuries were severe and ultimately fatal. Our veterinarian arrived on the scene early Saturday morning to humanely euthanize him,” said the CWHF, which manages the herd of about 100 wild mustangs roaming the northernmost beaches and swamps of the Outer Banks.

Last week, the CWHF posted a video of Bullwinkle fighting with another stallion, vying for the older stallion’s mares.

“He was in the prime of his life, and went from being a symbol of what it means to be wild and free to a tragic example of how irresponsible, reckless human behavior can cause pain, suffering, and irreparable damage to the herd in an instant,” the horse fund wrote. “Bullwinkle will never produce any foals. His genetics are gone from the herd forever and with such a small, endangered population the ramifications of that will last for generations.”

Meg Puckett, herd manager for the wild horse fund, said Bullwinkle died as he lived: wild.

“At no point did he welcome our intervention and he remained wary and defensive even as he laid on the dune unable to stand anymore,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “The fight drive that he was always known for never left him, right up to the end. He was exactly what a wild Banker stallion is supposed to be, and we are glad that he at least never had to leave the beach — he was never meant to.”

Bullwinkle was buried this weekend at the edge of the meadow where he was filmed last week fighting for a harem of his own.

The first will be held on Hatteras Island at the Avon Volunteer Fire Department, 40159 Harbor Road, on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The second will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Dare County Emergency Operations Center, 370 Airport Road in Manteo.

Topics will include preparedness efforts and why it’s important to never focus only on the category of a storm but instead on the storm’s potential impacts. At the end of each forum, time will be set aside for a community discussion during which attendees can ask questions and share their concerns.

For those unable to attend the free public forums in person, a virtual option will be offered on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

For more information and registration, see darenc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/8668/17.

The event draws an international field of competitors with a $15,000 pro prize purse. Both men’s and women’s professional and all amateur divisions will count as part of the Skim USA tour, and the professional men’s division will count as part of the United Skim Tour.

Professional men riders include three-time UST champion Lucas Fink, of Rio de Janeiro, and Gerardo Valencia of Barra de Navidad, Mexico. Professional women riders include the 2023 women’s Skim USA champion Sydney Pizza of Dewey Beach, Delaware, and the 2023 UST champion Chabe White, of Mazunte, Mexico.

The event will start at 8 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday and run until about 6 p.m. each day. The professionals will run during the best window for quality waves, which may change depending on the conditions throughout each day, organizers said.

Last week, the Dare County Board of Commissioners adopted a measure banning the intentional release of balloons within unincorporated areas of the county. Violators will face a hefty $250 fine.

The county action followed similar votes in recent months in five of the county’s six towns. In April, Duck became the first to adopt a ban, with a civil penalty of $250 for violators. On May 1, Nags Head commissioners approved a ban with a $50 fine, followed by Southern Shores on May 7 with a $250 fine, Kitty Hawk on June 3 with a $250 fine and Kill Devil Hills on July 8 with a $25 fine.

Earlier this year, Southern Shores resident Debbie Swick spearheaded an effort to make the release of balloons illegal on the Outer Banks and across the state, launching “Ban Balloon Release in North Carolina” and a Change.org petition.

“Balloons are something we can control,” Swick told Dare County commissioners at the July 16 board meeting. “Not trying to make them go away, just trying to act responsibly.”

Inflated balloons are popular for graduations, gender reveals, weddings and memorials, but they can wreak havoc on the environment.

Birds, turtles and other animals commonly mistake balloons for food, which can harm or even kill them, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Marine species like dolphins, whales and turtles, as well as animals such as cows, dogs, sheep and birds have all been hurt or killed by balloons, the agency said.

Balloons can block the digestive tract, leaving animals to slowly starve to death. Animals can also become entangled in the balloon, or its ribbon, rendering them unable to move or eat.

Mylar balloons can take a century to break down, releasing microplastics “that are now inundating our oceans and affecting all of us,” Swick said.

Last year, the National Park Service picked up a record 1,786 balloons along a 70-mile stretch of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, more than double the number collected in 2022. Park biologists collected the balloons while monitoring nesting shorebirds and keeping watch over sea turtle nests.

“The release of helium balloons is a major and devastating problem everywhere,  but especially to our beautiful coastline and to its inhabitants,” Swick said.

She said she’s thrilled that most Outer Banks localities have adopted a ban, but she’s not done yet.

Swick spoke last week to the Manteo and Currituck County boards of commissioners about the importance of a balloon-release ordinance and plans to send out letters to every county commissioner in North Carolina in the next few days.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but I couldn’t be prouder of the place that I live,” Swick said.

Put on some tropical attire, meet “Surfin’ Santa,” groove to beach and Christmas tunes and take tours of the brewery during the holiday party.

Bring donations of nonperishable food items or toys for a chance to win some gifts from Santa. The collected donations will provide meals for over 90 families through the American Legion Post 37’s food pantry on Aug. 1.

The kayaker launched from the beach near Ramp 43, east of the Cape Point Campground near Buxton, National Park Service spokesperson Mike Barber said in a release.

Bystanders reported seeing the kayak capsize while the man attempted to ride a wave roughly 50 yards from the beach, the release said. They swam out to help pull the man from the kayak and brought him to the beach. First responders were notified shortly before 10:30 a.m.

Life-saving efforts were initiated but the kayaker died, Barber said. The man is from Florence, South Carolina, but the park service did not release his name.

Because the fatality occurred while kayaking, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is investigating.

“We send our condolences to the kayaker’s family and friends,” Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent David Hallac said in the release.

Thirty breweries will be on hand offering more than 60 samples to festival-goers. There will also be live music, food trucks and the unveiling of a limited edition brewery collaboration honoring the Neptune Festival’s 50th anniversary this September.

Several restaurants near 31st Park will also be offering discounts to festival ticket holders after the event.

Tickets to the beer festival include a commemorative tasting glass and unlimited tastings of beer, cider and seltzer. Advance tickets are available until July 31 for $45. Tickets are then $50 until sold out.

For tickets and more information, see NeptuneFestival.com/events/annual-coastal-craft-beer-festival.

Join Kitty Hawk Kites to fly a kite in the place where Wilbur and Orville Wright took their historic first flight in 1903.

See kittyhawkkites.com for details.

For over 30 years, The Salvation Army Hampton Roads Area Command, with the help of community partners and donors, has worked to ensure that children in Hampton Roads start the new school year with the “Write Stuff.” The initiative is an annual event that distributes backpacks to students who reside in Chesapeake, Norfolk or Virginia Beach.

The backpacks will be distributed to eligible families Aug. 9 and 10 at the Hampton Roads Kroc Center.