Empty boat and dog found after canoer vanishes on North Carolina river, family says
_fitted.png "Philip Shelton has been missing for nearly three days, according to his family and law enforcement.")
UPDATE: Philip Shelton’s body was found below the Redmon Dam, according to a March 1 news release from the Madison County Manager’s Office.
The original story continues below.
Searches for a North Carolina canoer who vanished days ago are ongoing after his belongings were found, according to his family and law enforcement.
Family members say Philip Shelton, 64, has been missing since Saturday, Feb. 18, after he took his dog out in his canoe but never returned from the French Broad River in Marshall, North Carolina.
Later that day, Shelton’s dog was spotted walking along the road alone, according to a Facebook post from Shelton’s nephew, Brian Greene. Someone who knew the dog picked it up and brought it to the family.
Shelton was reported missing Saturday afternoon, according to a news release from the Madison County Manager’s Office. Officials dispatched search crews, including drones, to search the area near where Shelton went out in the canoe.
Searchers found Shelton’s car before locating his canoe and personal belongings along the riverbank, the county manager said. High water levels and nightfall prevented further rescue operations on Saturday.
Shelton’s backpack was among the items found near his boat, his niece, Dallas Burleson, wrote in a Facebook post.
“His canoe was pulled from the river this morning but no sign of him,” Burleson wrote on Sunday, Feb. 19.
On Sunday, more drone searches and swift water operations took place along the river, according to the county manager. Search efforts extended to the state line on Monday.
As of Tuesday, Feb. 21, more swift water and line-of-sight operations are being conducted between Marshall and the North Carolina state line, about a 20-mile stretch, the county said.
Shelton’s family and friends have asked the community for help in the search.
“My family is hurting,” a family member wrote in a Facebook post. “Please if you are by the river it doesn’t matter in Marshall or Hot Springs please be looking.”
“You can always count on him for anything, no matter the time or day,” Shelton’s neighbor, Brandy Shelton, wrote on Facebook. “He’s like my family. My heart is breaking for him.”
Marshall is about 20 miles north of Asheville.
This story was originally published February 21, 2023 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Empty boat and dog found after canoer vanishes on North Carolina river, family says."
