Safety reports are in the print issues of the Ocracoke Observer, which publishes monthly from March to December.
Winter safety report 2026
Ocracoke sheriff deputies reported a quiet winter on the island.
Sgt. Rob King said the deputies have only had some traffic stops from Jan. 1 to Feb. 15.
This is the time of year when the deputies take continuing education courses or go on vacation, as do other islanders.
He said a couple of the deputies are taking classes in standardized field sobriety testing ahead of the tourist season.
In the same period, the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department reported two medevacs, one electrical fire, one false alarm and one EMS assist.
Fire department volunteers recently took training in personal protective equipment.
The company is on the lookout for a used ladder truck that will go from 50 to 80 feet high.
Volunteers are always needed and welcome. Semi-monthly meetings are held on Thursdays at 6 p.m. in the fire hall. March meetings are March 5 and 19.
March 2026 safety report
Ocracoke continues to be quiet while winter winds down and the visitor season begins, but the Hyde County sheriff’s deputies had a new thing to deal with recently.
Captain Joe Smith reported in the period from Feb. 16 to March 15, they have had to escort five homeless folks off the island.
Smith said they were five separate men and women who got on the Pamlico Sound ferries. One woman had a grocery cart full of stuff.
“People called us as soon as she got off,” Smith said. Then the deputies drove her and the four men to the north end where they got on the ferry going to Hatteras, from where they continued onward.
They all were going up the beach, he said.
Ocracoke has no services for homeless people.
“This isn’t the place for them,” Smith said.
He also stressed that the shoulder area of Irvin Garrish Highway across from Howard’s Pub is not a junkyard.
A flatbed trailer that has been on the side of the road for a while will be towed if no one claims it.
Smith also reported 27 traffic stops, which included two fender-bender accidents with no injuries.
In the same period, the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department reported one medevac and one false alarm.
April 2026 safety report
A few more homeless people have been recently spotted on Ocracoke, said Captain Joe Smith of the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office.
This was during the period of March 16 to April 15 when three more got onto one of the Pamlico Sound ferries but were intercepted soon after they debarked.
Smith said all were driven to the South Dock and put on a ferry to Hatteras.
He said no one is allowed to sleep overnight in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore except in designated camping areas.
And on Ocracoke, he does not want to see people sleeping in their cars, or private property unless they are invited.
He is looking into getting the Hyde County commissioners to enact an ordinance prohibiting sleeping in cars on Ocracoke.
A homeless woman with a grocery cart full of stuff who got off one of the ferries in March subsequently made it to Manteo, he said.
She got caught stealing, was in the jail there and got bailed out, he said. She later was arrested in Nags Head trying to steal another grocery cart.
“We’ve had very little trouble, and I’d like to keep it that way,” he said, adding that Ocracoke has no services for homeless people.
Smith said the island remains quiet ahead of visitor season, although he reported 34 traffic stops.
There were four noise complaints about people in back yards. There were two drunk disturbances, one at a house and one at a hotel.
He reported a couple of marijuana charges and one underage youth drinking charge. In the latter case, he said the youth had a forged ID card that had scanned successfully at a liquor store.
The Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department reported the following for the same period:
Three false alarms; one EMS assist and one medevac.
