Outer Banks Insider

12/03/2025

Remains of a Virginia man reported missing last July from Knotts Island found in Pasquotank County. Sharing from North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation:

On Monday, December 2, 2024, a hunter reported the discovery of human skeletal remains to the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). The remains were found in a drainage canal along Sandy Road in Pasquotank County, near the Perquimans County line. The remains were excavated and processed with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the East Carolina University (ECU) anthropology department.

A preliminary evaluation by the ECU anthropology department determined that the remains belonged to a Black male, aged between 37 and 72 years, most likely in his 40s, and standing between 5’6” and 6’0”. Biological samples were collected and sent to the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory in Raleigh, along with comparison samples from family members of missing persons from Northeastern North Carolina and Southeastern Virginia.

On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory released its official findings, confirming that the remains belonged to Martrell Andre Lamar, a 42-year-old from Virginia Beach, VA. In July of the previous year, he was reported missing from Knotts Island, NC, through the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office.

Two suspects are currently in the custody of the Virginia Beach Police Department in connection with the suspected homicide of Lamar. The Virginia Beach Police Department will lead the ongoing investigation and any subsequent prosecutions related to this case.

If you have any additional information relating to this case, please call the Virginia Beach Police Department Detective Bureau at 757-385-4101 or contact Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.

Perquimans County, NC Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office Knotts Island Dare County Sheriff's Office East Carolina University WECT News WNCT-TV Dare County Government CBS 17 WRAL TV North Carolina Department of Public Safety NC Department of Justice and Attorney General's Office

12/03/2025

Sharing from Dare County Schools:

School safety update from Dare County Schools.

10/03/2025

The two Social Security Administration offices in NC closest to the Outer Banks and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Wilmington are among federal lease contracts listed as terminated by DOGE.

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09/03/2025

We talk with Joan Collins, the director of education and outreach at the Pea Island Preservation Society Inc., about the life and legacy of her late cousin Darrell Collins, the organization's impacts and where they go from here.

09/03/2025

An Avon man incarcerated last month on multiple charges of alleged sexual crimes against a child now faces three additional charges of indecent liberties with a child.

A Hatteras Island resident whose family is personally affected is circulating an online petition, titled, "Updated—Help put a repeat child predator in prison long term!”

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08/03/2025

Dirty car? Here's why, according to a WRAL TV meteorologist:

A combination of an earlier dust storm and wildfires to our southwest was the likely reason for a dirty rain Friday evening.

07/03/2025

Sharing from Roanoke Island Volunteer Fire Department:

06/03/2025

Update from Dare County Department of Health & Human Services:

We have issued an updated news release regarding Avian Flu concerns and guidance for encountering dead wildlife. Read More Here: https://www.darenc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/8982/1823

05/03/2025

Weather alerts for Wednesday from US National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City NC:

04/03/2025

Currituck man, who is CRNA and husband of assistant district attorney, arrested on r**e charge

Paul Pellini, a 54-year-old Grandy resident who is a certified registered nurse anesthesiologist, was arrested on a felony second-degree forcible r**e charge on Thursday, Feb. 27.

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03/03/2025

Sharing from Dare County Department of Health & Human Services:

Dare County has first confirmed positive avian flu case in a backyard flock. Read more: https://www.darenc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/8973/17?backlist=%2fdepartments%2fhealth-human-services

03/03/2025

PSA about recent human trafficking of children cases from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation:

According to the State Bureau of Investigation, it’s an undeniable fact: child trafficking is getting worse.

02/03/2025

Looking for something new to watch?
Join us for our new video series, where Outer Banks Insider’s Corinne Saunders interviews community members who live down the road from you!
For our second episode of “Down the Road,” we meet Marsha R. Johnson, a longtime Kill Devil Hills resident who recently returned from providing four months of “stew relief” to communities devastated by remnants of Hurricane Helene. We talk about her love of cooking large meals, how she felt divinely called to go serve in the mountains of North Carolina and what she experienced while there.
Early access is for subscribers only.

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01/03/2025

Sharing from Dare County Department of Health & Human Services:

We have recently put together an educational website on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Please take a few moments to learn more at: http://www.darenc.gov/avianflu

28/02/2025

Sharing from The Island Free Press:

Following the February dismissal of approximately 1,000 National Park Service (NPS) employees nationwide, coupled with a February 26 memo from the Office of Personnel Management on the National Workplace Optimization Initiative, questions remain as to how the NPS Outer Banks Group, which includes th...

28/02/2025

Sharing from Dare County Schools:

28/02/2025

The Harnett County Sheriff’s Office charged a man from Kitty Hawk and a man from Virginia Beach, Virginia, with human trafficking in the case of a missing 15-year-old Harnett County girl who was found safe in Dare County on Thursday.

This story has been updated to include photos of the suspects.

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27/02/2025

The Harnett County Sheriff’s Office charged a man from Kitty Hawk and a man from Virginia Beach, Virginia, with human trafficking in the case of a missing 15-year-old Harnett County girl who was found safe in Dare County on Thursday.

Roger “Chip” Hawley, director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (center), named the suspects in a Thursday press conference.

[FULL ARTICLE AT LINK IN COMMENTS]