Carteret County man drowns; second drowning this week

A medical condition may have contributed to the accidental drowning of a Carteret County man Thursday afternoon in Core Sound, authorities said.

John Taylor Styron Jr., 37, of the Atlantic community in Down East Carteret County was clamming with friends when the drowning occurred, the Carteret County Sheriff's Office said.

Not all the friends were together in the same location and when they hadn't seen Styron for about 30 minutes they went to look for him and found him in the water, authorities said.

The group immediately called 911 and the Coast Guard, National Park Service rangers, Sea Level rescue and the Marine search and rescue helicopter Pedro from Cherry Point responded to the waterway behind Middle Core Island located on the sound side between new and old Drum Inet.

Styron was transported by Pedro to Carteret General Hospital but he could not be revived.

Investigators with the sheriff's office report there was no foul play involved and Styron suffered from a pre-existing medical condition that is believed to have contributed to his death.