Empty boat washes up on Outer Banks a day after it fatally capsized, NC cops say

A derelict vessel found beached on the Outer Banks is linked to a fatal boating incident that occurred the day before in Oregon Inlet, according to North Carolina investigators.

The vessel was discovered Sunday, Oct. 19, at the north end of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission said.

An investigation has revealed Francis Hennigan Jr., 50, and Taylor Flannery, 29, were aboard when it flipped Saturday afternoon in Oregon Inlet, the commission said in a news release.

“Both occupants were thrown into the water without life jackets,” state officials said.

“Flannery was recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard and transported to Outer Banks Hospital with minor injuries. Hennigan was located shortly afterward in the water, unresponsive, and was pronounced deceased by medical personnel.”

Hennigan lived in Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, and Flannery is from Point Pleasant, New Jersey, officials said.

The men were in the process of “transporting a 50-foot sportfishing vessel from Cape May, N.J. to Florida” when they decided to stop in Beaufort, N.C., to have a damaged prop repaired, officials said.

An investigation is underway to determine what caused the boat to flip over.

“The vessel was under power from three of the four engines at the time of the incident,” investigators say.

Oregon Inlet is a passage between Bodie and Pea islands that links the Pamlico Sound to the Atlantic Ocean.

The channel is about a 200-mile drive east from Raleigh.

This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 8:13 AM with the headline "Empty boat washes up on Outer Banks a day after it fatally capsized, NC cops say."