The National Park Service is seeking the assistance of the public in locating a missing man.
Chris Palmer, 39, was last in contact with family members on January 9. National Park Service rangers located Palmer’s red 2017 Ford F-250 stuck on the beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore on January 12. The vehicle remained unclaimed, and Arkansas authorities officially declared Palmer a missing person on January 16.
Palmer is described as a Caucasian man, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, with blue eyes and strawberry-blond hair.
Officials say Palmer is believed to be traveling with his German shepherd and may still be in the area.
Chris Palmer, 39, vanished alongside his German shepherd, Zoey.
An accomplished outdoorsman from Arkansas, Chris had spent years camping across national forests. He shared his plans. He checked in. He told his family exactly where he was headed and when he expected to return.
From December 10 through December 27, he camped near Boone Fork. On Christmas Day, he called home and said he was heading to George Washington National Forest in Virginia, planning to stay until around January 7. On January 4, he texted again still in George Washington National Forest, staying another week. Then on January 9, he sent one final message: he was headed to Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia.
That message was the last time anyone heard from him.
Three days later, his truck surfaced
On January 12, 2026, National Park Service rangers found Chris’s red 2017 Ford F-250 stuck on a remote stretch of beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore near Cape Point, outside Buxton, North Carolina. The vehicle sat unclaimed. Chris was officially reported missing on January 16.
This is not a place you stumble into.
The truck was located between Ramp 43 and The Point an isolated off-road beach you have to intentionally drive to. Hatteras Island is not on the way to Virginia or West Virginia. It’s roughly six hours in the opposite direction.
Inside the truck, according to information shared by family: a shotgun, a safe, and camping gear were still there.
Chris’s clothes. His coat. Zoey’s dog bowls were gone
There was no sign of either of them.
People who know Chris describe him as a former military member with extensive survival training someone whose skill level ranks among the most elite. He’s a certified level-5 whitewater rafter who has led expeditions in Colorado and spent more of his life outdoors than indoors. He’s traveled solo across the country many times without incident.
Those closest to him say he has no mental health issues, no reason to run, and no history of disappearing. He is deeply devoted to his family and inseparable from Zoey.
Chris would never leave his dog behind.
If he could make contact, they believe he would have. The silence suggests something far more alarming.
Despite the red flags, public attention has been minimal. As of January 20, 2026, the case amounts to a single National Park Service release and a handful of regional stories. No national alert. No widespread media push. No urgency for a man who vanished on federal land after his truck was found abandoned in a location that defies his last known plans.
Chris is described as a white male, approximately 5’6”–5’9”, with blue eyes and strawberry-blond hair. He may still be in or around the Cape Hatteras area and was last believed to be traveling with his German shepherd, Zoey. His truck has already been recovered.
If you were at Cape Hatteras National Seashore especially near Cape Point between Ramp 43 and The Point on January 11 or in the days immediately before or after, think back.
Did you see a red Ford F-250 stuck on the beach?
A man walking with a German shepherd?
Anything that looked out of place?
If you were visiting, fishing, driving the beach, staying in Buxton, or scrolling through photos or videos from that trip, look again. A background detail a vehicle, a person, a moment you didn’t think mattered could be the missing piece.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the National Park Service tip line at 888-653-0009, submit a tip to the NPS Investigative Services Bureau, or call 911 if you believe you have an urgent lead.
