North Carolina – At the family’s request, search efforts for 39-year-old Chris Palmer have been called off. Chris’ father, Bren Palmer, issued a public statement on Saturday stating that the family recently learned that Chris was newly diagnosed with a terminal illness.
The statement explains in part:
With heavy hearts and profound sorrow, we, the family of Christopher Palmer, have made the difficult decision to request that all active search efforts for our son cease
We recently learned that Christopher was facing a terminal illness. Knowing this has helped us understand the choices he made. Christopher loved the outdoors and valued his independence. The treatments ahead would have taken much of that away, and he did not want that future for himself.
Some of Chris’ personal belongings were found along the coastline and it is the family’s belief that he perished at sea. His father writes, “As heartbreaking as this is, we have found a measure of peace in that understanding.
We are deeply proud of the man Christopher was, and we hope his story brings awareness to the emotional and mental burdens people can face during serious medical challenges.”
There is no word about the fate of Chris’ German shepherd, Zoey, who was with him when he disappeared. Chris’ last contact with his family was on January 9; he was declared missing on January 16.
Prior article about this heartbreaking situation here.
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