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Advertise With UsNEW BERN, N.C. (WITN) – The sister and pal of Ryan Ford, the person whose physique was present in a river in New Bern, are sharing extra in regards to the affect he had on the neighborhood.
Police had been referred to as behind Sky Sail Boulevard around 1:25 p.m. Sunday for a physique discovered within the Trent River. Officers say an individual on scene pulled the physique, recognized as Ford, from the water earlier than police arrived.
Joseph Richter has identified Ford for a number of years and says he had a nasty feeling when the preliminary information got here out {that a} physique was pulled from the water.
“You get a pit in your abdomen anytime you hear that, and when it did come out on Monday, that it was somebody of their younger 50s, I simply kinda knew,” Richter mentioned.
Police launched extra particulars to WITN on the investigation based mostly on preliminary findings and an post-mortem that was accomplished.
“The reason for demise was drowning. There was no indication of violence or wrestle as a result of lack of accidents on the physique,” mentioned Sgt. Jonathan Sanderlin of the New Bern Police Division’s Felony Investigations Unit.
Sgt. Sanderlin says that on the time, Ford was staying with a pal on their boat on the New Bern Grand Marina, the place the drowning occurred.
Richter says Ford used to stay on his boat on the marina and was a person who beloved many and was beloved by all.
“He beloved his household, he beloved his pals, he beloved his neighborhood, he was a neighborhood member who frequented downtown, he beloved his canine Paloma,” Richter mentioned. “Ryan had one of many greatest hearts I’ve ever met. He’s somebody who won’t ever be forgotten, and he’ll all the time be remembered.”
Ford’s sister, Jenna Ford Yund, mentioned her brother, who grew up in rural Colorado on a potato farm, had a lifelong love of boats and the water.
“He was a beloved brother, son, and pal to many,” she mentioned. “He was a kind-hearted man who was beloved by many and who shall be dearly missed.”
Police say the investigation continues as they await the complete post-mortem.
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