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Wrightsville Beach
Monday, March 18, 2024

Charlotte man called 911 before ending life on beach

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A Charlotte man who ended his life on Wrightsville Beach last week called 911 just minutes before his death.

Wrightsville Beach Police Chief Daniel House said 51-year-old John Fiske III used a handgun to shoot himself at about 11:59 a.m. The medical examiner’s report, along with an investigation, confirmed earlier indications that the act was a suicide, House said.

Fiske brought a blanket with him to the beach before noon Thursday, Jan. 7, House said, and called 911, reporting that he planned to kill himself. Police responded within three minutes, but were not in time, where they found Fiske on the blanket with a head wound and the handgun nearby. He was near the dunes, about 200 yards south of Public Beach Access No.2 on the north end of Wrightsville Beach, near Shell Island Resort.

Fiske had ties to Wrightsville Beach through a cousin, who owned a house nearby where police found his body, but he was from the Charlotte area, House said.

Police found his next of kin in Charlotte. Fiske’s parents were informed on Monday, House said. The next of kin notification occurred by telephone, though House said that’s the last way police want to deliver that information. He said the Wrightsville Beach Police Department tried, but was unable, to schedule the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department to personally visit the residence and inform the next-of-kin. Fiske’s parents were informed on Monday, House said.

House said he believes information from the next-of-kin that there was no indication that the deceased was depressed to the level to warrant suicide concerns.

“They were very distraught. It came as a complete shock,” House said.

As a precautionary measure, police asked for an autopsy, with the medical examiner’s report confirming suicide as the cause of death.

There have been a few other public deaths in Wrightsville Beach over the past five years.

In accordance with Associated Press style, the Lumina News only publishes information about suicide victims when the incident is public or a noteworthy person.

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