More than six weeks after Patrice Jones Bass was found dead, her family and best friend are still pushing for answers in what they describe as a deeply suspicious death at Ocean Walk Condominiums.
The 40-year-old Durham native and Henderson homeowner, who worked in management at an accounting firm, was vacationing with her three children — one with special needs — when she died on May 17, 2026.
According to her best friend Rachael Andrews, who spoke exclusively with The NC Beat, Bass was last heard from around 11:30 p.m. on May 16 when she spoke with a male friend named Shane while on the elevator. The group — which included her estranged husband’s aunt, a guy she was dating named James, and the others — had gone for a beach walk earlier that night.
After returning to the condo, the children were told to go to bed around 12:30 a.m. Carolyn, (the aunt) was already in her room. Andrews said James told her he tried to follow Patrice into the bedroom they were sharing, but the bathroom door was locked. He went back to the living room and fell asleep on the couch.
According to Andrews, James said he woke up around 1:30 a.m., noticed Patrice was gone, and found her dress on the balcony with lingerie inside it — as if she had planned to surprise him.
“James said he searched the hotel room for Patrice, then went onto the balcony and looked down, where he saw her lying face down, naked, in a pool of blood,” Andrews recounted.
He reportedly ran downstairs and found police already approaching. He told Andrews he placed his hand on her back and that she felt cold.
Her body was not discovered until sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. Andrews said she didn’t receive the call that Patrice had died until around 6:00 or 7:00 a.m.
“She was found naked in a pool of her own blood,” Andrews said.
“Bruises on the right side of her face and chin. No scratches on her arms. Her head wasn’t busted open. She only had one broken fingernail on her left hand — and she was left-handed. Wouldn’t you brace your fall?”
Andrews, who prepared Bass for the open-casket viewing, said the injuries didn’t match what you’d expect from a fall from a 4th-story balcony.
Investigators have reportedly given conflicting explanations, including suggestions of suicide. One investigator texted Andrews that sometimes “we never find out the why.”
“They didn’t even ask me for the code to her phone until almost two weeks later,” Andrews said. “Nobody has been questioned. It makes you wonder if they just don’t care or know something they aren’t sharing.”
Andrews noted it took Patrice’s estranged husband (who was reportedly two weeks away from finalizing their divorce) quite a while to arrive at the scene. Later, Patrice’s estranged husband and James reportedly rode back to the Raleigh-Durham area together, during which the husband gave James Patrice’s gold Nefertiti necklace.
The family has still not received the autopsy report. No official cause or manner of death has been released by the Oak Island Police Department or the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office.
“She had so much life ahead of her,” Andrews said. “She was a dedicated mother. She wasn’t someone who wanted her life to end.”
The Oak Island Police Department has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
This story is developing.
The NC Beat will continue to push for transparency and will update this article as new information becomes available.
