Body of Rocky Mount firefighter found in wooded area

Wilson was found around 1 p.m. in a wooded area along North Winstead Avenue.

"The Rocky Mount Police Department Criminal Investigation Unit and the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office is on-scene and actively investigating," a statement read. "We will provide an update as the investigation continues to develop."

Wilson's family became concerned after not hearing from their relative for days.

Wilson had been missing since Saturday. He left his keys, vehicle, wallet and phone at his home, according to his son Jeremy Wilson.

Jeremy Wilson spent most of Saturday with his father at his home on Sunset Avenue.

"We had been building some stuff around the house and hanging out," he said. "Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing seemed out of place. The typical conversation in the day was we're getting ready for the big ECU [and] NC State game this weekend."

Jeremy Wilson said they talked about their plans to tailgate.

Then, on Sunday morning, Bobby Wilson's girlfriend came over to his house. The door was locked to his house, with all his belongings inside, but Bobby Wilson was nowhere to be found.

It wouldn't have been uncommon for Bobby Wilson to have been at friends house, lose track of time and forget his phone, Jeremy Wilson said.

So the family waited but heard nothing.

Bobby Wilson had been a firefighter for decades, and has never missed a shift. Whenhe didn't show up for work on Monday, his family knew something was up.

"It was 7 a.m. Monday, and he hadn't been at work. No one had heard from him," Jeremy Wilson said. "This is wrong. There's something wrong ... because if there's one thing about Bobby Wilson is that Bobby Wilson does not miss work. He does not taper off of his normal activities."

Jeremy Wilson, a nurse a Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, said his life has been in "shambles" since his father went missing.

"No one has a clue what's happened," he said. "My dad has basically fallen off without a trace at this point."

He said investigators are searching through security footage, through the woods behind Bobby Wilson's home and in nearby water sources.

On Wednesday afternoon, a group of off-duty firefighters searching for him located a body by a bridge on Winstead Avenue, but there was no immediate word on the identity of that person, a cause of death or description.

"My dad means more to me than anything," Jeremy Wilson said. "He's grown up and taught me to be who I am."

"I'm in disbelief. I'm devastated," he added.