Beachgoer finds body of man whose truck plunged off bridge

MANTEO, N.C. (AP) — The body of a Maryland man whose truck plunged off the side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in December was found Friday on a beach in North Carolina, according to his relatives.

Erik Mezick’s family posted on Facebook that they were notified of the discovery, The Virginian-Pilot reports. The newspaper said Mezick’s brother, Kevin Mezick, confirmed the body was his brother's.

The National Park Service said in a news release that a resident found a man's body on a Cape Hatteras National Seashore beach between the North Carolina villages of Salvo and Avon. The park service said the body would be taken to the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office.

“We said he would present himself when he was ready and in true (Erik) style he did just that today on his favorite beach,” said his family's Facebook post.

The park service's release didn't name the man, but it said his body appeared to have been in the ocean for “an extended period of time.” The park service didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Saturday.

Mezick, 47, of Fruitland, Md., worked for Baltimore-based Cloverland Farms Dairy and was driving a box truck on a delivery when it went off the Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia on Dec. 29.