A North Carolina native and long-serving law enforcement officer with the N.C. Marine Patrol was formally pinned Tuesday as the agency’s top cop.
Chris Lee, who most recently served as captain of the agency’s Marine Patrol District 1, took the helm as colonel of the Marine Patrol on Jan. 1, replacing Col. Carter Witten, who retired Dec. 31.
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Lee, a native of Colerain, has served with the patrol for 18 years. He was pinned by his father, Vernon Lee, a former deputy sheriff, during the ceremony, which was held at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries headquarters in Morehead City. A pinning ceremony is a long-held tradition that marks a a law enforcement officer’s promotion.
Lee helped form the Marine Patrol’s Swiftwater Rescue Team, building and training its members in late 2019. In 2021, the team became North Carolina’s first state law enforcement-certified swiftwater rescue team.
“That’s been one of the most rewarding things of my career,” Lee said in a release. “The relationships we have made across the state have done wonders for us as an agency, and we are providing a better service to the citizens of North Carolina.”
Lee, who trained alongside fellow team members, added, “We were all learning together and trying to make it happen to better serve in times of need.”
The team, which has deployed numerous times across the state, was one of 71 swiftwater rescue teams deployed to Western North Carolina to assist with rescuing people from floodwaters of Hurricane Helene in the fall of 2024.
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The Marine Patrol enforces coastal recreational and commercial fishing regulations of the state. The patrol has helped transport food to flooded communities, provided security in business districts hit by tornadoes, and its officers have flown Department of Environmental Quality staff to survey shoreline erosion and flooded animal waste operations after hurricanes.
As colonel, one of Lee’s goals is to “make the Marine Patrol even more of an asset to the people of North Carolina through training and working with North Carolina Emergency Management, while continuing to serve as the fisheries law enforcement agency,” the release states.
As colonel, Lee manages more than 50 officers and directs law enforcement efforts over 2.7 million acres of ocean and coastal fishing waters in 21 eastern counties.
“The N.C. Marine Patrol plays a vital role by enforcing fishing regulations and providing water, air and ground support to other DEQ divisions, including during emergencies,” N.C. DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson said in the release. “Colonel Lee will do an outstanding job because of his tremendous experience, vision, and commitment to the Marine Patrol’s mission.”
Lee is an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, where he served in 2003 as a member of the N.C. Army National Guard.
He began Basic Law Enforcement Training at Beaufort Community College upon his return from overseas and later worked for the Edenton Police Department before joining the Marine Patrol in March 2008.
He earned a degree in criminal justice after joining the Marine Patrol. In 2012, he received the N.C. Marine Fisheries Enforcement Officer of the Year award from the Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards Program.
Lee was joined in his pinning by his wife Melissa, who pinned his badge; sons, Sonny and Banks; parents, Vernon and Tammy Lee; brother, Bryan Lee; and mother-in-law Kathy Rea.
