UPDATE: April 9, 12:05 – The males who were the subject of an April 8 manhunt appeared to have stolen a vehicle during the nighttime hours and escaped the area.
Law enforcement units from across Fayette County converged on areas northeast of Tyrone Wednesday afternoon, attempting to apprehend four males involved in an entering auto incident in Peachtree City and later fled on foot in heavily wooded areas of north Fayette after crashing their vehicle.
Bloodhounds tracked the four for several hours but at 10 p.m. they had not been located. Sheriff Barry Babb said deputies would continue a heavy, general patrol of the area throughout the night.
Awareness of the four males in a silver SUV came as Fayetteville Detective Mike Whitlow was driving north on Tyrone Road at approximately 3:30 p.m. The SUV came up behind him at a high rate of speed and passed Whitlow and several other vehicles on a double-yellow line, Whitlow said.
Whitlow turned on his lights but the vehicle would not pull over and, instead, proceeded at a high rate of speed, passing another group of vehicles. Whitlow said the vehicle’s speed was approximately 70 miles per hour.
The vehicle as it approached Ga. Highway 74, swerved around several vehicles and headed north. Still in pursuit, Whitlow turned off his blue lights and slowed down when he saw traffic congestion ahead at the Southampton Village Shopping Center. As he followed and approached Jenkins Road to the north, Whitlow said the suspect vehicle attempted to cut around a group of vehicles at the intersection and hit a truck. The impact threw the now-disabled SUV onto the median on the north side of the intersection.
Whitlow said four black males who appeared to be in their teens exited the vehicle and ran to the northeast.
It was confirmed by Peachtree City Police Department spokesperson Odilia Bergh that contents found inside the wrecked vehicle, including a handgun and a backpack, belonged to the victim of an entering auto incident earlier in the afternoon at the Home Depot on Ga. Highway 54.
The SUV containing the four males was stolen in Riverdale, Bergh said.
Units from Peachtree City and Fayette County deputies began arriving in the area, searching along Jenkins Road, Sandy Creek Road, then expanding the search area to Coastline Road to the north and on to the east to the Lee’s Mill Road area.
Bloodhounds from the sheriff’s office were brought in as more units converged on the scene. A helicopter from the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office arrived and began its search.
Meanwhile, officers expanded the search to the area of Lee’s Mill Road where indications were that the four were in or around the triangular area of Sandy Creek Road to the west, Lee’s Mill Road to the north and Sams Drive to the east. The area is sparsely-populated and heavily wooded.
The skies were clear and the temperature was mild. And the patrol units were everywhere. Some units patrolled the roadways while other searched on foot. The bloodhounds continued to follow the scent but were eventually worked to the point of exhaustion.
As night fell patrol units continued to swarm the area which easily caught the attention of the many motorists passing through the area. Officers also spoke with a number of residents in the area.
As large a search as it was, the four males by 10 p.m. had eluded those efforts.
Standing with Whitlow along Lee’s Mill Road at 10 p.m., Babb said deputies would continue patrols through the night.
Babb on Thursday morning said a Kia Sorento (tag no. PQG8947) was stolen over night from a residence in the area of Sandy Creek Road and Adams Road. The residents of the secluded home situated a short distance from the search area and a significant distance off the roadway said their vehicle was missing when they awoke. Babb said the keys were in the vehicle.
