Ben McNeely of the Independent Tribune broke the story of the Rowan and Cabarrus health officials having confirmed four cases of E. coli and are investigating at least nine more. Rowan Health Director Leonard Wood said many of the patients stricken with E. coli symptoms ate at Captain’s Galley Restaurant in China Grove between May 26 and May 29. Wood said the restaurant has been inspected and no obvious source of the infection has been found at the restaurant. Cabarrus Public Health Director William Pilkington said four people from Cabarrus County have been hospitalized with symptoms of E. coli. The health departments are investigating 12 to 16 possible cases, Pilkington said. “That number could grow in the course of the investigation,” Pilkington said. No one who ate at the restaurant after May 29 has reported experiencing symptoms, Pilkington said.