Police in Wrightsville Beach, near Wilmington, are investigating the death of a 78-year-old woman found unresponsive in the ocean. Two people called 911 around 11:30 p.m. Saturday to report finding the woman, identified as Sally Mertens, near Access 9, according to the Wrightsville Beach Police Department. She had been pulled from the surf and was “unresponsive, not breathing and without a pulse,” police said. Resuscitation efforts “were unsuccessful” and the case is under investigation.
