HAMLET — Police confirmed Monday that the body of 29-year-old Steven Ray Bullard Jr. of Laurel Hill was found in Hamlet City Lake on Sunday afternoon.
Officers found the body at City Lake at about 1:45 p.m. Sunday after people who were fishing at the lake flagged down Corp. Barnes, who was conducting a traffic stop nearby, according to Police Chief Tommy McMasters.
McMasters said Monday that no foul play was involved in Bullard’s death after reviewing evidence.
Using identification found on Bullard’s person, police contacted his grandmother who said she had not spoken to him recently. McMasters said they initially suspected foul play because they were unable to find the personal vehicle registered to Bullard’s name, a blue Ford, near the scene.
“That caused me to be concerned because, how did he get to the lake?” McMasters said.
Investigators then discovered that Bullard’s vehicle was involved in a single-vehicle accident at 1:29 a.m. Saturday morning in which the driver was never located. McMasters said Bullard’s vehicle struck a light pole in front of Steve’s Pizza at the intersection of U.S. 74 and Hwy. 38 in Hamlet — totaling the Ford — and a witness said that there didn’t appear to be any effort to slow down.
The witness also told police that they saw the driver stagger away from the wreck towards the lake, according to McMasters. Police discovered an open container of alcohol in the vehicle.
“You can see what likely happened to (Bullard),” McMasters said. “The investigation has been converted from anything suspicious to a standard investigation into a traffic crash fatality.”
Bullard’s grandmother told police that he worked for Spectrum. McMasters said Bullard did not show up to work Saturday morning.
Bullard’s body has been sent to Raleigh for an autopsy, though McMasters said the autopsy may not be necessary following the new details that have emerged regarding the circumstances of his death.
Gavin Stone can be reached at 910-817-2674 or [email protected].