DATE: Wednesday, April 9, 1997              TAG: 9704090486

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 

DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY                    LENGTH:   27 lines

MISSING MAN'S BODY IS FOUND IN CREEK

The body of a disabled man missing for a week was found Tuesday afternoon in Knobbs Creek.

Michael Theodore Dail, 33, was last seen by his parents when he left their Newland home about 10:30 a.m. April 2, said Pasquotank County Sheriff Randy Cartwright.

He left a note saying ``Gone to Elizabeth City.''

Dail was unemployed and lived with his parents because of several physical disabilities including epilepsy. He often took a taxi to Elizabeth City, frequenting pool halls or the bowling alley. His parents, Allen and Aubrey Dail, reported him missing Thursday.

Cartwright and deputy Doug Hooper found Dail's body near a railroad bridge that crosses Knobbs Creek after a taxi driver reported Tuesday morning that he had dropped him off there April 2. The taxi driver told Cartwright that Dail said he was to meet a friend there to go fishing.

``We don't see any signs of foul play,'' said Cartwright.

Cartwright said he was awaiting an official autopsy report but that Dail apparently drowned. KEYWORDS: DROWNING MISSING PERSON

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