WAVY-TV 10 reported earlier today that the North Carolina state Medical Examiner has now ruled the death of a 60-year old Pennsylvania man as an accidental drowning. Last month, it was reported that the Medical Examiner was seeking a second opinion on the cause of death. According to the WAVY-TV 10 article, "The Medical Examiner’s Office in Greenville, N.C. reviewed images of the body with marine biologists and came to the conclusion that [the victim] accidentally drowned. A shark did not kill him."

The WAVY-TV 10 story, which appeared in Google News listings, has since disappeared.

Interestingly enough, the article, which was published today at 1:01 EDT, has since been pulled from the WAVY-TV 10 website. The article is still appearing in Google News listings and is available for viewing through a cached Google page, although it is not clear why the story has been pulled from the website. This reported new finding by the Medical Examiner has yet to appear at any other local media sources that I have been able to track down. The fact that it was pulled from WAVY.com not long after it was published and the lack of the report showing up elsewhere draw the validity of the story into question, at this time.

Regardless of the Medical Examiner’s ultimate ruling, the loss of the victim’s life is no less tragic. My thoughts and sympathies go out to his friends and family. I have chosen not to repeat the victim’s name regarding this news (or, perhaps, falsely reported news), as I’m sure having his name appearing in the news, yet again, likely will serve only to remind those he left behind of their tragic loss.