Body of missing 25-year-old recovered from Cape Fear River

ERWIN, NC (WNCN) — Search parties have recovered the body of a 25-year-old man who was swept away in the Cape Fear River on Monday.

Edwin Ordonez-Vasquez and his brother, 29-year-old Emilson Ordonez-Vasquez, were with a group on the river near the Erwin Park Cape Fear River approach, located at 1002 S. 13th St., to get to an island.

They were trying to get to an island in the river when the brothers were swept away by the current.

Emilson Ordonez-Vasquez’s body was recovered by crews on Monday evening. Edwin Ordonez-Vasquez’s body was found early Wednesday.

Crews continued to search the area on Tuesday for his brother, where he was last seen.

Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats said a passerby tried to save the brothers but couldn’t.

“A bystander jumped in and grabbed one of the brothers. The current was so strong that it pulled them all under water. He just lost track of him,” Coats said.

The rain finally stopped the salvage work on Monday evening.

Fort Bragg sent a watercraft on site on Tuesday to help with recovery.

Family members stood by all day Tuesday for updates while the heart was broken. The sheriff said the brothers’ father needed medical attention for heart problems.

“Losing two children in one day – we must keep this family in prayer. And hopefully we can find that other body and kind of shut that family down,” Coats said.