MARION, N.C. – The Latest on the capture of a fugitive in western North Carolina (all times local):
11:20 a.m.
A man who eluded law enforcement officers for six days faces a number of charges after his arrest in a national forest in western North Carolina.
McDowell County sheriff's spokeswoman Richelle Bailey says 39-year-old Phillip Michael Stroupe II was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Thursday following a chase on U.S. 70 west of Marion in the Pisgah National Forest.
Bailey says federal agents tried to stop Stroupe on Wednesday night, but he drove away.
She says officers used traffic spikes to stop the vehicle and Stroupe ran into a tomato field and was captured. Bailey said officers found a handgun that they think Stroupe was using in the field.
She says Stroupe was driving a truck belonging to 68-year-old Thomas Bryson of Mills River, who was reported missing Wednesday morning. Bryson is still missing.
Stroupe faces drug, weapons and fleeing police charges in McDowell County. He's expected in court Friday.
____
This item corrects suspect's age to 39, instead of 38.
___
7:30 a.m.
A man who's been the focus of a manhunt in a national forest in North Carolina has been captured.
McDowell County sheriff's deputies say 38-year-old Phillip Michael Stroupe II of Weaverville was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Thursday on U.S. Highway 70 west of Marion.
Sheriff Dudley Greene told WLOS-TV that Stroupe ran from officers, who used traffic spikes to end a chase. Greene says Stroupe ran from a vehicle but was arrested.
The sheriff says Stroupe was driving a truck belonging to 68-year-old Thomas Bryson of Mills River. Bryson was not with Stroupe when he was captured. Authorities said Wednesday Bryson was missing after he failed to pick up a family member.
Stroupe had been on the run since Saturday when authorities say he stole a bike at gunpoint.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
