Oak Island police chief set to retire

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — Oak Island’s police chief is retiring. Chief Van Eddinger said after 30 years in law enforcement it’s time to hang up the uniform.

Eddinger has been with the department since Long Beach and Yaupon Beach consolidated into Oak Island. He said he became chief of police in 2006.

Eddinger said he has seen a lot of changes.

“The town has grown in the last 15 years, it’s the largest beach town in the state, but we’ve annexed a lot of property, put call volume has tripled, our population has doubled.”

Eddinger’s official first day of retirement is March 1. He said he plans on golfing and spending more time with his family.