Authorities searching Cape Fear River for missing man

Crews have been searching the Cape Fear River near Person Street for a man who went missing around 2 p.m. Friday afternoon. The search has been called off for the night but will resume Saturday morning.

Multiple law enforcement officers, Fayetteville fire officials, police and Cumberland County Sheriff deputies are using sonar, drones and utilizing a dive team. They are exhausting all options in the search for Jerry Taylor, 62, who went missing while trying to retrieve his boat after it unexpectedly left the dock.

"He was on this river (Thursday) with his (grandson)," said Rickey Dawson Sr., who said he is a friend of Taylor. He said it's one of Taylor's favorite spots.

"He wasn't trying to fish, he just enjoyed, you know, going out seeing the nature."

The scene where the boat left the dock was roped off with crime scene tape. Fayetteville Fire Chief Mike Hill said around 1 p.m., a man pulled his truck and boat onto the ramp to get into the river when the boat came loose.

Officials have not identified Taylor as the man they are searching for.

"He entered the water to try and retrieve it and hasn't been seen since," Hill said.

A 911 call came in around 2:45 p.m. from a fisherman who saw that boat floating down the river with no one on it.

"We have a command structure set up with three different operations going on The dive search, the sonar search and an aerial search," Hill said.

An outdoorsman, handy, loyal is how Dawson describes Taylor. He said he was with Taylor a few hours before working on the same boat Taylor was putting into the water.

"Put a new water pump in it," Dawson said. "He said 'I'm going to take it back to the river, let me see what I can do.' He begged me to go with him and I told him 'No, I've never been on the Cape Fear River ... always scared of it.

Now, he's hoping for the best.

"Best friend I ever had and I'm still praying for him," Dawson said.