Family seeks justice, answers after Apex man fatally stabbed on Atlantic Beach fishing trip

APEX, N.C. (WTVD) -- Randy Miller's family and friends describe him as an avid fisherman. It was fishing that brought Miller and longtime friend John McAlpin to Atlantic Beach on Aug. 29.

"We go down red fishing for the big red drums once a year in September," McAlpin said.

But this trip wouldn't go as the others. They wouldn't even get the boat out of the garage.

"He started loading the equipment on the boat. He had three or four bags already on the boat. And then I walked down there two, three minutes later and he was laying on the ground bleeding at that point," McAlpin recalled.

Atlantic Beach Police said Miller was stabbed once in the chest after he came across three people who were trying to commit a burglary just outside of McAlpin's vacation home. He later died.

"I came around the corner and was stopped by my two great neighbors that had woken up from this incident and told me be careful something serious happened, and I thought he fell and hurt himself as he fell. He was laying on the ground bleeding," McAlpin said.

Police work several leads

Police Chief Jeff Harvey said the three men were breaking into cars in the West Atlantic Boulevard neighborhood. Harvey said they need people in the community and those who have a vacation home in the area to pull their security footage and ring doorbells to help generate new leads in the case. Harvey said it was surveillance video that captured an image of a car that investigators believe may be connected to the case. It's a silver four-door sedan. Harvey said they're still working to determine the make and model of the vehicle.

"We know that they were breaking into secured vehicles. So we're going back and retracing to the locations where we saw them make contact with the homeowners or vacationers to see if they had anything taken from the vehicle," Harvey said. "We have identified one of those vehicles and again, this the SBI came out to process that vehicle for any type of evidence that may have been there."

Miller's friends and family want the people who are involved arrested and charged.

"I think these creeps came on the island from somewhere and left. There's nobody on the beach that would do this," McAlpin said.

He was 'my rock'

Miller's wife of 43 years also wants justice.

"I hope they're caught and they need to be brought to justice. I mean, Randy was an awesome guy. He wouldn't hurt anybody," said his wife, Susan Miller.

She doesn't know why anyone would want to take Miller's life.

"I just don't know why they would have done this to him. I mean, if they wanted money or anything on his boat, he would have said take it. You know, he was just that type of guy.," Susan Miller said.

The Millers were high school sweethearts. They lost their son five years ago and now, Susan Miller is grieving again.

"Randy was my rock. I had him to lean on now. I don't have him. My son's gone now, my husband's gone. But I take consolation that they're both together. And I'm hoping they're fishing now together," she said.

Anyone with information about the vehicle or the stabbing is asked to contact the Atlantic Beach Police Department at (252) 726-2523 or via email at policeadmin@atlanticbeach-nc.com. You can also submit anonymous tips here.