Missing Wendell man found in submerged car off New Bern Avenue, Raleigh police say

A Wendell man reported missing last week was found dead in an overturned car underwater in Raleigh, according to the city’s police department.

Gregory Thomas, 30, was found in the car late Sunday afternoon near the intersection of New Bern Avenue and the off ramp from Interstate 440, said Stacy Smith, a Raleigh police spokesperson. He’d been missing since Thursday.

He had left home around 6:15 a.m. in his gray Honda Civic, heading to Comfort Monster Heating and Air in Raleigh, where he worked, according to a Wendell Police Department news release.

Family members last spoke with Thomas around 6:30 a.m. as he was driving through Knightdale, police said.

As he was exiting I-440 and merging onto New Bern Avenue, Thomas lost control, Raleigh police said. His car then went down a steep embankment, rolling upside down and becoming submerged in water, according to Smith.

There was heavy rain that day, with flooding in several spots, she said.

In a Monday Facebook post, his sister confirmed Thomas had been found.

“Our hearts are heavy, minds are confused, vision is blurred, and emotions unbalanced,” she wrote. “We want to take a minute to thank you and acknowledge you all for the tremendous outpour[ing] and community support from all over.”

In a statement posted on the company website, Comfort Monster said it would be paying Thomas’ salary “for the foreseeable future, in addition to his company benefits,” while his family would also “be the beneficiary of a life insurance policy provided by the company.”

Thomas was a son, a brother and a father of three children, ages 4, 2 and 4 months old, reported ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.

A GoFundMe raising money for a college fund for his children had raised nearly $15,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

His fiancée, Julia Pearce, told ABC11 that Thomas was a hard worker and loved his family.

”Knowing that he was out there so close to me ... I just can’t imagine life without him; it hurts to think about,” Pearce told ABC11 in a phone interview.

This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 12:03 PM.