April 13, 2012
By Christy Stewart, DailyRegister.com
MOUNTAIN TOWNSHIP —
A ground search has ended for a man
who went missing in the Stoneface area while turkey hunting
Wednesday. Saline County Sheriff Keith Brown said the man was found
dead by search and rescue crews Thursday afternoon.
Joseph
W. Thatcher, 62, of Wilmington, was in the area turkey hunting with
friends and family when he failed to show back up at their campsite
on Eagle Mountain Road to meet his friend at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
"He went to Eagle Mountain Road after dropping a friend off at
Stoneface and never made it back to his vehicle," said Brown.
When Thatcher's companions were unable to locate him, they contacted
the Saline County Sheriff's Department around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Officials said Thatcher had a heart condition, so they wanted to
begin the search as soon as possible.
...
Officials
believe the man died from a heart condition shortly after heading
into the woods, but was difficult to find because he was wearing
camouflage clothing.
"He very much blended in," said Brown.
"It was a difficult search."
Thatcher was located at 2 p.m.
and was pronounced dead at the scene by Saline County Coroner Jerry
Doug Watson.
In an interview with "The Daily
Register/Eldorado Daily Journal" last November, Thatcher said
he had been camping with friends and hunting from the same site on
Eagle Mountain Road for 40 years. He was introduced to the site in
the 1970s by George Chrisman of Raleigh.
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