Currituck

Body of missing swimmer recovered

The body of a missing Greenville woman has been recovered from the Currituck Sound northeast of Poplar Branch Landing, according to a report issued by the Currituck Sheriff’s Office.

Leah Kathleen Bland, age 26, was reported missing at approximately 8 p.m. on the evening of Sunday, June 28. Bland and her friend Rae Elliot, of Currituck County were boating in the Little Narrows area of Currituck Sound when they left their boat for a swim.

According to the Sheriff’s Department statement, the boat drifted away from the pair. Elliot managed to swim back to the boat where she called 911 at approximately 8 pm Sunday evening. A search mounted Sunday evening by the Sheriff’s Office and the US Coast Guard proved unsuccessful.

Bland’s body was located at approximately 11 am Monday morning by Irvin Pickett, a local commercial fisherman. Sheriff’s personnel responded to Pickett’s 911 call to recover Ms. Bland’s body, which was transported to the county medical examiner’s office.

The Sheriff’s report states that County medical examiner, Dr. James Owens, found nothing suspicious in his examination. The body was subsequently released to Twiford’s Funeral Home.

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