Into the Record | Investigation Series Part 1: The 1825 Outer Banks Mystery

Sixteen mutilated bodies wash ashore along the North Carolina Coast. An abandoned brig loaded with valuable cargo drifts into Beaufort. Local newspapers blame pirates. But nearly 200 years later, does the evidence support that theory?

In this episode of Into the Record, we begin a real-time historical investigation into a disturbing maritime mystery connected to the Outer Banks. Using an 1825 newspaper article as our starting point, we will explore the discovery of 16 bodies, an abandoned vessel, the history of piracy along the coast, and the questions that still remain unanswered today.

The original article is available on Patreon, free of charge, for everyone to review.

Between now and the next episode, I'd love for us to work through this case together.

Some questions I'm currently researching:

• Can we identify the brig?

• Was sixteen a typical crew size for a vessel of this type?

• What route would a New Orleans trader have taken in 1825?

• Were pirates active along the Carolina coast during this period?

• Could the condition of the bodies have resulted from natural causes rather than violence?

• Are there additional newspaper reports covering this incident?

I encourage you to pick one question, or one that isn't listed, and follow the records wherever they lead.

Don't worry about being an expert researcher. Some of the best breakthroughs happen because someone notices a detail that everyone else overlooked.

I'll be sharing updates, sources, and discoveries here throughout the month before the next investigation episode is released.

Let's see what we can uncover together.