COLERAIN – The North Carolina Highway Patrol and the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office are seeking information from the public following the discovery of a Bertie County man’s body found in the road early Tuesday morning on Highway 42 near the Colerain Peanut Company.

According to NCHP Trooper Chris Copeland, the Sheriff’s Office and Bertie EMS received a call around 11:30 p.m. Monday about a body in the roadway near the Peanut Company. However, an extensive search by both deputies and EMS personnel of the highway in and around that location turned up nothing.

At approximately 1:30 a.m. Tuesday a second call was received and this time the caller reported a black male was lying in the road at the same location.   This time, when dispatched, authorities discovered a body that appeared to have been struck by a vehicle and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

When the Highway Patrol arrived around 2:20 a.m. the deceased was identified as Sherman “Wayne” Morning, Jr. of 235 Harrell Road in Colerain.

Troopers say they have no description of the vehicle that is believed to have killed the 31-year-old.

Family members told other news media that Morning was walking home and that he lived about 2-1/2 miles from where he was struck.

Anyone with information on the hit and run death should call the Highway Patrol at (252) 332-6800 during regular hours; or call the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office after hours at (252) 794-5330.

The Highway Patrol lists this as the fourth traffic fatality of 2015 in Troop-A, District-2, comprised of Bertie, Hertford, and Gates counties.