Carjacking suspect sought in Mars Hill, college briefly on lockdown

by: Jonathan Austin from 12.3.08

MARS HILL – Mars Hill College has lifted its campus lockdown tonight though law enforcement from two states are continuing to search for an armed man wanted in a carjacking in Carter County, Tenn.

School officials instituted their campus wide emergency communication system to alert students, staff and faculty.

Madison County Sheriff John Ledford said a Unicoi County, Tenn., Constable began chasing the suspect in Carter County Monday afternoon, and the chase led authorities into Madison County. The driver of the black Mustang convertible is believed to be armed with a 9 mm handgun, Ledford said.

“They’ve been in what I would call high speed pursuit,’ Ledford said, while staking out the intersection at the Mars Hill I-26 interchange.

At about 5:10 p.m., Ledford said, “We last had him (seen) here on N.C. 213 in Mars Hill.”

Officers from Carter County, Tenn., Unicoi County, Tenn., the N.C. Highway Patrol and Madison County deputies were searching for the suspect. Ledford said Yancey County authorities had been notified.

Taken from The News Record and Sentinel.