Woman charged after NC boating death

EMERALD ISLE — A woman has been charged with boating while impaired after the death of a man who got out of a boat to help set an anchor on a North Carolina coastal waterway.

The Daily News of Jacksonville reports that Wildlife Resources Officer Ryan Taylor said Thursday the charge was filed against 54-year-old Deborah Root of Emerald Isle.

Authorities say 61-year-old Ronald Metzger got out of Root’s boat to help her and his wife anchor the vessel, then went swimming and couldn’t get back in and began struggling. Metzger was pronounced dead shortly after the Coast Guard transported him to a boat ramp at Cedar Point.

An investigation is continuing by the wildlife agency and the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office.

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