Wrightsville Beach officials continue to look for missing swimmer Charles “Chuck” Kuebler this week, after more than one week since his disappearance, though they acknowledged it is unusual for a swimmer to go missing in the water for this long and it is unlikely he will wash back up on Wrightsville Beach at this point.
“With the amount of boats, kayakers, swimmers and others out in the water, we would have definitely expected to find him by now,” Wrightsville Beach Police Chief Dan House said on Tuesday. “It’s kind of unusual but it can happen.”
Going into the last weekend of July, public safety authorities in Wrightsville Beach faced the prospect of Kuebler emerging from the depths of the ocean and potentially washing ashore on a busy weekend day. However, after being reported missing on Tuesday, July 26, there still has been no recovery of the 58-year-old Wilmington man believed to have disappeared while swimming off Wrightsville Beach.
House said Kuebler’s disappearance was being treated as a missing person’s case and detectives have spoken with several family members, but so far there are no “red flags” to indicate suspicion.
Wrightsville Beach Fire Chief Glen Rogers said if Kuebler had drowned and was lying on the bottom of the ocean off Wrightsville Beach, his body almost certainly would have emerged by now. Officials were concerned that Kuebler’s body would most likely emerge on Thursday or Friday of last week, just as the weekend tourists began coming to the beach.
It would have been an uncomfortable sight for beachgoers, Rogers acknowledged, and said officials were prepared for a quick response should Kuebler emerge. Wrightsville Beach Police received assistance from the Wilmington Police Department’s SABLE helicopter on Thursday, which scanned the waters just back from the shoreline, hoping to spot Kuebler if he was on the bottom.
But Kuebler is still missing more than one week after his initial disappearance. His car and belongings were found in Wrightsville Beach just a few hours after he was seen swimming in the ocean at an early-morning time before lifeguards took their stands. There were no further reports of Kuebler at Wrightsville Beach on July 26 until his family noticed he hadn’t arrived back later that afternoon, sparking a Tuesday-evening search of the shoreline. The waters on the day of Kuebler’s disappearance were described by ocean rescue staff as fairly calm with low winds and calm waves not conducive to rip currents.
Rogers said police, the fire department and the ocean rescue personel were briefed and prepared to recover Kuebler at first sighting, which included early-morning patrols all week.
Rogers said if Kuebler’s body emerged from the ocean’s floor during the day, officials would have tried to shield the recovery efforts from sight of beach patrons by wrapping the area with the same black fabric used to protect sea turtle nests, along with portable canopies. And while the goal would be to move a drowning victim off the beach as soon as possible, Rogers said some time would have to be allowed for police to collect any relevant evidence from the scene.
The body of a drowning victim can sink or float, depending upon conditions, Rogers said, but internal gases invariably will cause a submerged body to rise, usually within 48 hours. However, a floating body could be carried by currents great distances north or even south, and animals could also affect conditions of the body, Rogers said. The U.S. Coast Guard’s search for Kuebler extended as far as three miles offshore, officials said, but was ended on Wednesday, July 27 after two days of searching.
“There are a number of things that could have occurred,” Rogers said.
Scores of family, friends and well-wishers came to the Wrightsville Beach strand Thursday, July 28 for a prayer circle for Kuebler, the Wilmington husband, father, business consultant and sports booster.
Kuebler’s wife, Rose; two sons, Jonathan and Andrew; mother; brother and other family members joined dozens of friends at Public Beach Access No. 29 by Stone Street, where they said a prayer and told stories of Kuebler, who loves to play golf, watch baseball and swim in the ocean.
“I’m hoping for a miracle,” Rose Kuebler said. “I’m hoping and praying for closure.”
Rose Kuebler and her son’s fiancée were at the beach all night on Tuesday searching the shore for some sight of her husband. Rose Kuebler said she and family members were planning to search for him by boat at Topsail Beach and other northern locations.
Bernie Kuebler said his brother’s dedication to the causes he cares about is why the gathering drew the big crowd, which included many of the athletes he mentored. Kuebler is active in The First Tee youth golf program and the Laney High School Athletic Boosters, where the salesman helped find needed sponsors for the school’s baseball team.
“He’s got a lot of brothers here,” Bernie Kuebler said. “He cared about all the kids, all over the county. He sold Christmas trees to raise money for the baseball team.”
Swimming in the ocean is a therapeutic activity for her husband, Rose Kuebler said. Bernie Kuebler said swimming was part of the athletic lifestyle that demonstrated his brother’s spirit.
While in high school, Charles Kuebler was injured in a warehouse accident where a toppled forklift crushed his legs, but he rehabilitated himself through intense physical training, swimming and running, brother Bernie Kuebler said. Charles Kuebler went on to play golf in college for James Madison University.
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