Father and 5-Year-Old Son Die After Child Falls Off Dock While Fishing and Dad Jumps In to Save Him

Sterling Holman, 38, and his son Braylin, went missing after going fishing.
Baylin was 5 years old. GoFundMe

Sterling Holman, 38, and his son Braylin were at first considered missing after a fishing trip in North Carolina. They were found dead this week.

A father and son were found dead this week after the pair went missing while on a fishing trip in North Carolina. Witnesses told police that the 5-year-old fell off a dock into the riverbank and his father immediately jumped in, but the two ended up getting swept away by the current. 

Sterling Holman, 38, and his son Baylin were fishing on a dock last Wednesday at the Neuse River in Wayne County when the tragic accident happened just around 8 p.m., the Wayne County's Sheriff's Office told ABC 7. Search crews scanned the waters by boat and helicopter.

They were considered missing until Braylin's body was found Monday. bodies turned up Monday. His father's body was found two days after.

"It's definitely a tough situation," said Joel Gillie, a spokesperson for the local sheriff's office. "Our hearts are out with the family, of course. They're going through a lot right now. But also the witnesses that were out here yesterday. It is a tough scene."

RELATED STORIES