The SWAT team members spot another set of shoeprints around a barn and determine they’re a match for the ones Stroupe left at the start of his escape on foot. July 22: Henderson County SWAT team members spot a set of footprints and bicycle tire treads where Stroupe was last seen.Multiple agencies organize a search that closes much of Pisgah National Forest. By then Stroupe has vanished into the woods. Whitmire has to push the SUV out of the way before he can continue the pursuit. Stroupe slides the SUV sideways -blocking the road - hops on the mountain bike and rides into the forest. The pursuit continues for several miles until Avery Creek Road narrows and turns to gravel. Stroupe jumps out of the SUV, steals a bike at gunpoint, throws the bike in the back of the SUV and drives off. Phillip Michael Stroupe II speeds away on Avery Creek Road until he spotted a man on a mountain bike. Saturday, July 22: After Henderson County sheriff’s office issues a BOLO (be on the lookout) for a silver SUV driven by a wanted fugitive, Transylvania County Deputy Nathan Whitmire spots the vehicle in Pisgah National Forest initiates a traffic stop.His father is referred to as Phillip Stroupe. Phillip Michael Stroupe II is referred to as Michael Stroupe, which is what family call him. “Tommy” Bryson, the capture of Stroupe and the investigation by law officers. He was captured on foot after fleeing through a tomato field around 1:30 a.m., Greene said in a Thursday morning meeting with reporters.Here is a timeline of the manhunt for Phillip Michael Stroupe II, the kidnapping and murder of Thomas A. 70 West in Marion, where he was stopped with road spikes. The chase leading to Stroupe's arrest covered parts of N.C. but declined to say whether Bryson was with him at the time.Īuthorities apprehended Stroupe in McDowell County after an officer in Yancey County spotted him in a silver Honda Ridgeline owned by Bryson, McDowell Sheriff Dudley Greene said. The Henderson County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that Stroupe crossed into eastern Tennessee near Gatlinburg and Sevierville sometime after 10 a.m. 80 during a police chase that led to his capture.Īuthorities were unsure at what point Bryson left the vehicle. At some point after that, Stroupe turned onto N.C. 280 and then onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. McDonald said in a Thursday news conference at Mills River United Methodist Church, where Bryson attended, that Stroupe is believed to have taken Bryson onto N.C. Wednesday as he was going to pick up a family member. Popular sections of Pisgah National Forest were closed for four and a half days as up to 70 law enforcement officers combed heavy terrain around the clock.Ī break in the investigation came when a passing motorist spotted Stroupe last Monday night in the North Fork of Mills River near North Mills River Road.Īuthorities believe Bryson was kidnapped in an area near where Stroupe was sighted by the motorist between 8:35 and 8:40 a.m. Stroupe later threatened a fisherman with the revolver to give him a ride, but the man was able to persuade him to leave, authorities said. The younger Stroupe was in custody in McDowell County after Judge Laura Powell approved District Attorney Ted Bell's request to increase his bond from $100,000 to $2 million. He appeared in Henderson County Court on Monday morning for a preliminary hearing. He is charged with accessory after the fact of first-degree kidnapping in Henderson County. "Obviously this is not the outcome we would have liked to have," McDonald said.Īllison Nock, community relations and media specialist for the Henderson County Sheriff's Department, said Stroupe's father, Philip Stroupe, 65, of Burnsville, was arrested Sunday night. Henderson County Sheriff Charles McDonald said Stroupe will likely face murder charges in the coming days. A cause of death had not yet been determined. The body of a 68-year-old Mills River man believed to have been kidnapped by Phillip Michael Stroupe II, the armed felon who led police on a multi-day manhunt throughout Western North Carolina, was found Sunday night.Ī member of the Skyland Fire and Rescue Department located the body of Thomas Bryson in a corn field off Ledbetter Road in Arden about 8:30 p.m.
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