Man and his dog go missing on NC’s Outer Banks, park says. Truck found on beach

UPDATE: On Jan. 24, the family of Christopher Palmer requested that searchers to stop “all active search efforts” to locate him, according to a Facebook post. “Our family believes our son perished in the sea,” the post said. “We recently learned that Christopher was facing a terminal illness.”

The original story is below.

A pickup truck found abandoned on North Carolina’s Outer Banks has ignited a search for a missing tourist and his dog, according to the National Park Service.

The man has been identified as 39-year-old Chris Palmer of Arkansas, Cape Hatteras National Seashore reported in a Jan. 20 news release.

“After a review of Dare County traffic camera footage, investigators have determined that Palmer’s red 2017 Ford F-250 was in Dare County ... as early as the afternoon of Jan. 9. A blue and white kayak was observed in the back of the vehicle,” the National Park Service reported Jan. 22.

“Additionally, pings to Palmer’s mobile phone indicate that the phone was located near Avon on the evening of Jan. 10 and near Cape Point in Buxton on Jan. 11. On Jan. 12, NPS law enforcement rangers located Palmer’s vehicle, which was stuck on the beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. According to visitor reports, the vehicle was also stuck on the beach on Jan. 11.”

The blue and white kayak seen in camera footage was not in the truck and “has not yet been found,” officials said.

Palmer was traveling with his German shepherd, and investigators believe they may still be in the area.

Family members believe he died in the Atlantic, according to a Jan. 24 Facebook post.

“We, the family of Christopher Palmer, have made the difficult decision to request that all active search efforts for our son cease,” his father Bren Palmer wrote in the post.

“We recently learned that Christopher was facing a terminal illness. Knowing this has helped us understand the choices he made. Christopher loved the outdoors and valued his independence. The treatments ahead would have taken much of that away, and he did not want that future for himself. ... As heartbreaking as this is, we have found a measure of peace in that understanding.”

Palmer is from Arkansas and was officially reported missing by his family on Jan. 16.

Relatives noted in a Jan. 19 Facebook post that Palmer and his dog Zoey were camping at various national parks in the region, and they had been at Washington National Forest in Virginia until Jan. 7. He was next expected to visit Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, relatives say.

However, family members were notified on Jan. 18 that his truck had been found near Buxton “in the opposite direction he was headed.”

Investigators are looking for anyone who visited Cape Point in the Buxton area on the evening of Jan. 11, 2026. The NPS Tip Line is 888-653-0009, or tips can be shared online at www.nps.gov/orgs/1563/submit-a-tip.htm.

Cape Point is a remote 4WD beach in Buxton, “located at the veritable ‘point’ of Hatteras Island.” Waters off the point are treacherous, including colliding currents, shoals and sandbars.

Buxton is about a 240-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.

This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 10:56 AM.