‘Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks’ cast member Captain Charlie ‘Griff’ Griffin dies in boating accident

By Rebekah Riess and Sandra Gonzalez, CNN

(CNN) — “Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks” cast member Captain Charlie “Griff” Griffin died in a boating accident “unrelated to the series,” according to a statement from National Geographic and Pilgrim Media Group on Thursday.

The US Coast Guard’s North Carolina Command Center received a report of two overdue boaters – identified as 36-year-old Chad Dunn and 65-year-old Capt. Charlie Griffin – late Sunday night after the pair left from Virginia Beach enroute to a Manteo, NC marina for repairs, according to a US Coast Guard release.

Griffin and his dog Leila were found dead, while the search for Dunn continued for almost two whole days before the Coast Guard suspended the search off the coast of Oregon Inlet, NC, on Tuesday at around 6:30 p.m., the release said.

“We searched for 41 hours, conducted 12 search patterns, and covered approximately 400 miles by air, sea and on shore with our local partners to find Chad and bring him home,” US Coast Guard Cmdr. Corrie Sergent said.

“It is one of the hardest decisions to call off a search, and we offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends affected by this tragic event,” Sergent later added.

According to National Geographic, Griffin was the captain of the fishing vessel Reels of Fortune and appeared on Seasons 2 through 5 of “Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks” with his son.

“Charlie was known to all as a spirited fisherman with a big heart. We join Charlie’s family, fellow cast members and friends in mourning his untimely loss,” the National Geographic statement said.

According to the Coast Guard, visibility was only a little over half a mile, seas were at 4-6 feet, and winds at 10-15 knots when the men were reported missing.

North Carolina Fish and Wildlife will conduct an investigation into the incident.

“Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks” is a spinoff of the National Geographic Channel show “Wicked Tuna,” a reality series about commercial tuna fisherman that premiered in 2012.

The spinoff focuses on tuna fishermen based in the Outer Banks who fish for the Atlantic bluefin tuna off the coast of North Carolina.

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