Tragic news this morning — a mother and son drowned Tuesday at Bertie Beach.
Rather than filter/rewrite the news like some mainstream media journalist, here’s what’s happened straight from the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office — news posted around 1:45 a.m. or so Wednesday.
First responders in Bertie County were dispatched to Bertie Beach (242 Bal Gra Road, Merry Hill), at 5:41 p.m., in reference to a report that someone was drowning. Upon arrival, first responders were notified that a mother and son were the two people that were in the water drowning. An off-duty Bertie County EMS worker, Merry Hill Fire Chief and family, first responders, and beach-goers, entered into the water and rescued an 11-year-old female and recovered the bodies of Shaunna Jernigan (35) of Colerain, and Timothy Jernigan (14) of Colerain. The rescuing and recovering occurred an estimated 150 yards from the beach shore.
Upon initial statements of the 11-year-old female, she advised that she was at the beach with her mother and brother who are the drowning victims. She advised that she and her mother were floating on an inflatable floater, while her brother was swimming. She advised that her brother could no longer feel the bottom of the beach and became distressed. Her mother went to rescue her brother and her mother also became distressed. That’s when beach-goers entered into the water and rescued her to safety. Life-saving measures were done on the mother and son, but unfortunately, they didn’t survive.
Our community mourns with the family and friends of the victims. The family, friends, our community and first responders, need your prayers during this difficult time. Resources have been made available to the family and first responders. We want to personally thank all personnel that was involved and assisted to include: Merry Hill Fire Department, Bertie County EMS, Bertie County Sheriff’s Office, NC Marine Fishery, Windsor Police Department, Bertie County Communication Dispatchers, and beach goers.
Victims’ next of kin has been notified.
