Police recover body of boy swept away by wave in Outer Banks

CAROVA BEACH, N.C. — The body of a 4-year-old boy who was swept away by an ocean wave while walking along the beach with his mother in the Outer Banks last week was found Monday morning, police said.

[4-year-old boy swept out to sea while walking on Outer Banks beach]

[Crews seek signs of boy swept to sea from Outer Banks beach]

Officers said that around 7:40 a.m. the body of Wesley Belisle was found by the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office on Carova Beach, about 34 miles north of Kitty Hawk, where the boy was reported missing.

A heart-shaped seashell memorial remains on a Kitty Hawk beach. That's where the U.S. Coast Guard said the boy and his mother were walking Wednesday afternoon when a wave hit the child, carrying him out into the ocean.

Officials said the mother lost sight of her son as he went further from the shore. Police said the Belisle family was vacationing from New Hampshire, and the boy was their only child.

Wesley's family was notified and are making arrangements for him to be transported back to New Hampshire, police said.

Crews combed 130 square miles before ultimately suspending their search.

“We hope that the outpouring of compassion and offers of support, thoughts and prayers to the Belisle family from people all over the world can bring them some amount of solace in this time of tremendous grief,” said Kitty Hawk Police Chief Joel C. Johnson.

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