🌱 Family offers $25K reward in Wrightsville Beach-linked missing teen case
Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina Patch AM: a 5 min readHello again Wrightsville Beach! We’re bringing you the latest town highlights. Don’t miss out, keep going! ☀️
In today's newsletter:
- Family offers $25K reward in Wrightsville Beach-linked missing teen case
- How upcoming bridge work will change your daily drive and loop walks
- Which Wrightsville Beach pier restaurant made this statewide soup list?
Also on today's calendar: Movies in the Park Ghostbusters Afterlife and 5 more events.
Today's riddle: What word begins with and E and ends with an E and has one letter in the middle? 🤔 (Answer below!)
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☑️ Important voting information: The Nov. 3 general election is coming up. Official North Carolina election resources: Find your polling place | Register to vote | Check your registration | Vote by mail or absentee | Early voting.
- Wednesday: Increasing clouds and breezy, with a high of 76 and low of 62 degrees.
- Thursday: Breezy in the morning, temps: high: 77, low: 59.
- Friday: Mostly sunny and pleasant, with a high of 77 and low of 62 degrees.
📰 News we're reading
1. ‘Come home, buddy;' $25K reward offered for safe return of missing 19-year-old last seen in Wilmington (wwaytv3.com) — Wrightsville Beach police and a South Carolina family are urgently searching for 19-year-old Robert Shirah, last seen crossing the Heide Trask Drawbridge before being spotted near Eastwood Road and Racine Drive in Wilmington. His parents, who were visiting relatives in Wrightsville Beach when he disappeared, are offering a $25,000 reward and asking anyone with information to call 911 immediately. 
2. Bridge 'betterments' and loop improvements coming to Wrightsville Beach (starnewsonline.com subscription) — Wrightsville Beach is set to overhaul its popular John T. Nesbitt Loop and add aesthetic and safety upgrades to new bridges, backed by a $1.5 million grant and town funding. Residents can expect improved accessibility, a temporary “mini-loop” during bridge work, decorative lighting, and phased construction that will close sections of W Salisbury Street and eventually shift traffic to a new Causeway Bridge.
3. These 10 North Carolina Restaurants Make Soup Worth Going Out Of Your Way For (newsbreak.com) — One of the featured soup spots sits right on Wrightsville Beach’s Crystal Pier, where Oceanic’s she-crab soup comes with sweeping Atlantic views and live music. The roundup highlights 10 standout soup destinations across North Carolina, from Asheville to the Outer Banks, but gives locals a reminder that one of the state’s most scenic bowls is right in their backyard.
4. 22 Notable Writing Conferences and Workshops in November 2026 (blogspot.com) — Writers in and around Wrightsville Beach can look forward to the North Carolina Writers’ Network Fall Conference coming to town November 6–8, offering classes and conversations on both craft and the business of writing. It’s one of many November workshops and conferences nationwide, but this one happens right in Wrightsville Beach, giving local authors convenient access to agents, instructors, and fellow writers.
5. CFCC says goodbye to research vessel as it heads to become artificial reef (wect.com) — A longtime Cape Fear Community College research vessel is being retired and sunk to form an artificial reef about 18 miles off Wrightsville Beach, in roughly 80 feet of water. The new reef should become a useful site for offshore surveys, fishing, and diving, and CFCC hopes to send its next research boat to witness the sinking.
📸 Around Wrightsville Beach
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🗓
Upcoming Events in
Wrightsville Beach
Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!
★ Featured events ★
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Movies in the Park: Ghostbusters Afterlife →
Wrightsville Beach
Friday October 30
Want to see your event featured? Click here!
Other local events
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Movies in the Park Ghostbusters Afterlife →
Wrightsville Beach NC
6:30 pm -
Movies in the Park →
Wrightsville Beach, NC Calendar, 321 Causeway Drive, Wrightsville Beach
6:45 pm -
Wrightsville Beach Farmers' Market →
Wrightsville Beach, NC Calendar, 321 Causeway Drive, Wrightsville Beach
8:00 am -
NCRA Conference 2026 →
Holiday Inn Resort Lumina on Wrightsville Beach by IHG- Room block held until 10/2/26, 1706 North Lumina Avenue, Wrightsville Beach
10:00 am -
Planning Board Meeting →
Wrightsville Beach, NC Calendar, 321 Causeway Drive, Wrightsville Beach
5:30 pm -
Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting →
Wrightsville Beach, NC Calendar, 321 Causeway Drive, Wrightsville Beach
5:00 pm -
SEVEN TELLER at The Palm Room →
The Palm Room, 11 East Salisbury Street, Wrightsville Beach
9:00 pm
Friday October 30
Monday November 2
Wednesday November 4
Thursday November 5
Wednesday November 18
📣 Wrightsville Beach Shout Outs!
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🗓 Events Nearby
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NC DEQ →
New Hanover County, NC Calendar, 6206 Oleander Dr, Wilmington
8:00 am -
Small Business Coalition - 1 Million Cups
UNCW CIE, 803 College Rd G, Wilmington
9:00 am -
NC4ME Hiring Event →
UNCW Burney Center, Union Drive, Wilmington
10:00 am -
Public Tour →
Cameron Art Museum, 3201 S 17th St, Wilmington
1:00 pm
Wednesday October 28
Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.
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💬 Chatter
What your neighbors are talking about on social media
- Beginning November 2, the Emergency Planning Zones (EPZ) for residents within the 10-mile radius around Duke Energy's Brunswick Nuclear Plant are shifting.
Residents, property and business owners in southern New Hanover County, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach should check their new zones in case of an… (Nextdoor )
- MarineMax, Inc. posted a job opening for Yard Team Member in Wrightsville Beach. Apply here.
- Ollie's Bargain Outlet posted a job opening for Retail Sales Associate in Wilmington. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Wrightsville Beach here.
Ok Wrightsville Beach! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: "What word begins with and E and ends with an E and has one letter in the middle?" — Envelope (Thank you Mike C. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!
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