The body of a Roanoke Rapids man was found in the Chowan River Saturday and an investigation by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is underway, the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald of Ahoskie reported.

According to the NCWC, James Edwin Newton, 75, was fishing from his boat across from Shoups Boating Access Area in Gates County. 

Lieutenant John Beardsley of the NCWC’s District 1 Law Enforcement Division said information was shared by a member of the public who found an unoccupied boat drifting near the Old Bridge Park in Winton, located directly across the river from Shoups Landing.

“After a search of the area with underwater sonar, Mr. Newton was found deceased a short distance from where his boat was located,” Beardsley said in a press release.

Beardsley added that Newton was not wearing a life jacket at the time of his death. 

The matter is currently being investigated by wildlife officers and an official cause of death is pending. 

Beardsley said that Hertford County Emergency Management and Gates County EMS assisted with the search and recovery. 

He stressed that NCWC recommends that all boaters wear a lifejacket while they are on the water as accidents can happen quickly and without warning.