 I saw the first responders, and it was before they had asked all the people to leave, so there were still quite a few boats out there when we saw the lights. Unclear why Merritt went underwater and did not resurface. In Onslow County, a body washing ashore, family members say, is 14-year-old Maynor Perez. Perez went missing in the waters of New River Inlet near North Topsail Beach on Thursday.